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BX  9743  .B6  B6  v.l 

Booth  Tucker,  Frederick  St. 

George  de  Lautour,  1853- 
The  life  of  Catherine  Booth 


CATHERINE     BOOTH,    1882. 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


CATHERINE  BOOTH 


THE 


MOTHER  OF  THE  SALVATION  ARMY 


BY 


F.    DE   L.    BOOTH-TUCKER 


VOLUME    I 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL   COMPANY. 

NEW  YORK:  |  CHICAGO: 

30  Union  Square,  East.  148-150  Madison  Street. 

Pultlishers  of  Evangelical  Literature. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  iSga,  by 

WILLIAM    BOOTH, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  at  Washington. 


THE    PREFACE. 


My  task  is  completed.  Imperfectly?  Alas,  none 
could  be  more  conscious  of  that  fact  than  myself !  I 
have  longed  unspeakably  for  inspiration 's  pen  to  write 
the  record  of  a  life  inspired,  no  matter  whose  the 
hand  that  held  the  pen !  I  have  wept  with  disappoint- 
ment as  I  have  struggled  to  describe  the  indescrib- 
able !  A  thousand  times,  in  the  lonely  solitude  of  my 
room,  I  have  turned  from  pen  to  prayer,  and  then 
again  from  prayer  to  pen.  My  whole  soul  has 
yearned  unspeakably  to  enshrine  our  Army  Mother's 
memory  fittingly,  and  to  enable  her  in  these  pages 
to  live  her  life  again. 

I  have  not  criticised?  No!  I  could  not,  for  I  loved. 
With  the  love  of  a  son — the  respect,  the  admiration, 
the  enthusiasm  of  a  disciple.  For  critical  biography 
I  have  neither  time  nor  taste. 

/  Jiave  exaggerated  ?  No !  Inquire  from  those  who 
knew  her  best — her  family,  her  friends,  the  Army. 
I  have  sought  to  tell  "the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth ;  "  to  let  facts  and  letters  speak 
for  themselves,  and  to  surround  the  picture  with  but 
a  framework  of  such  explanations  as  have  seemed 
necessary  for  the  occasion. 

/   claim  for  Mrs.   Booth   infallibility  ?      No !      Only 


iv  THE  PREFACE. 

sanctified  common  sense.  "Jesus  Christ  made  unto 
her  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemp- 
tion." 

She  made  mistakes  ?  Undoubtedly !  But  I  have  not 
found  many  to  record.  As  a  Mother — her  family 
speak  for  her  in  the  gates.  As  a  Wife — her  husband 
lives  and  testifies.  As  an  Apostle — thousands  of  her 
spiritual  children  are  scattered  through  the  world. 

/  have  been  too  laudatory  ?  Nay,  verily !  Press  and 
pulpit  have  combined  to  set  their  seal  on  every  word, 
and  the  highest  praise  proceeds  from  other  lips.  My 
own  opinion  eight  years'  intimacy  has  entitled  me  to 
express.  Of  the  General  and  the  living  members  of 
the  family  I  have  left  unsaid  the  appreciation  and 
admiration  which  my  heart  has  felt ;  but  of  the  subject 
of  these  memoirs  I  have  claimed  the  liberty  to  say  that 
which  I  feel,  and  to  testify  that  which  I  know.  Sen- 
sitive to  a  fault  of  what  the  public  might  think,  the 
General  would  have  preferred  that  I  should  imderdxsw 
rather  than  overdirsLW  her  character.  He  would  have 
been  even  willing  that  I  should  sprinkle  a  few  blots — 
I  wdll  not  say  of  my  own  manufacture — over  the  can- 
vas, lest  any  should  charge  me  with  claiming  perfec- 
tion for  the  picture.  I  have  asserted — may  I  call  it 
the  artistic  privilege? — of  dispensing  with  the  blots 
which  my  imagination  refused  to  invent  or  my  re- 
searches to  discover.  I  have  assumed  the  editorial 
responsibility  of  saying  what  I  think,  of  saying  it  in 
the  way  that  I  desire,  and  of  distributing  my  adjec- 
tives where  they  seemed  most  to  be  required,  and  I 


THE  PREFACE.   .  v 

certainly  must  have  declined  the  task  had  I  not  been 
allowed  this,  in  my  estimation,  legitimate  freedom. 

Are  tJicrc  no  shadozvs,  then  ?  Oh,  yes!  Alas,  almost 
too  many !  Victory  shadowed  by  defeat,  joy  by  sor- 
row, strength  by  weakness,  warfare  by  suffering,  life 
by  death.  A  mighty  intellect,  an  iron  will,  an  ocean 
soul,  encased  in  an  "  earthen  vessel "  so  frail  that  a 
touch  seemed  sufficient  to  shatter  it.  A  barque  tossed 
upon  the  waves  of  a  perpetual  tempest  of  opposition, 
persecution,  criticism,  from  the  day  when  it  was 
launched  on  its  perilous  life-voyage  to  the  day  when 
it  cast  anchor  in  the  eternal  Haven. 

But  the  sources  of  my  information  ?  The  entire 
private  correspondence  of  Mrs.  Booth  from  1847  on- 
wards has  been  placed  at  my  disposal.  Never  has 
biographer  been  more  privileged  to  peer  with  prying 
eye  behind  the  scenes  and  ransack  the  minutest  de- 
tails of  a  life.  Litera  scripta  nianet.  The  written 
records  have  spoken  for  themselves,  and  on  their 
silent  testimony,  more  than  on  the  memories  of  living 
witnesses,  this  Life  is  based.  The  facts  have  been 
carefully  corrected  by  the  General ;  for  the  opinions, 
where  they  are  not  those  of  Mrs.  Booth,  I  assume  the 
entire  responsibility. 

/  have  been  helped?  Yes,  by  my  dear  wife,  Mrs. 
Booth's  second  daughter,  Emma.  [She  does  not 
think  I  have  spoken  too  highly  of  her  mother,  and 
verily  she  ought  to  know.  Nevertheless,  the  opinions 
are  inijie,  not  hers.']  Piles  of  hurriedly-written,  ill- 
digested  manuscripts,  which  but  for  her  I  would  fain 


vi  THE  PREFACE. 

have  hurled  impatiently  at  the  printer's  head,  or  have 
consigned  to  the  depths  of  the  waste-paper  basket, 
have  been  dissected  page  by  page,  sentence  by  sen- 
tence, almost  word  by  word.  Dissectcd^^—yes,  that  is 
the  word ;  dissected  at  home  till  I  almost  feel  criticism- 
proof  abroad ! 

I  have  taken  a  long  time  ?  Not  very.  I  received 
my  material  the  end  of  July,  1891.  I  sit  writing 
these  lines  on  the  2d  of  the  same  month,  barely 
eleven  months  afterwards.  The  life  of  a  Salvationist 
is  a  life  of  interruption.  Wherever  he  goes  there  are 
"  lions  in  the  way. "  Telegrams  and  letters  follow  him 
to  every  retreat.  Seclusion,  privacy,  and  the  quietude 
supposed  to  be  necessary  for  literary  enterprise — the 
words  have  been  obliterated  from  his  dictionary, 
the  very  ideas  have  almost  faded  from  his  mind.  His 
table  is  a  keg  of  spiritual  gunpowder,  his  seat  a  can- 
non-ball; and  he  writes  as  best  he  may  amid  the  whiz 
and  crash  of  flying  shot  and  shell,  the  rush  and  ex- 
citement of  a  never-ending  battle,  in  which  peace  and 
truce  are  words  unknown,  and  rest,  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  word,  is  relegated  to  heaven. 

Again,  it  has  not  been  like  zvriting  a  novel,  where 
the  author  can  give  the  heroine  free  scope  to  say 
and  do  as  she  pleases,  or,  rather,  as  he  may  please. 
A  biography  has  meant  a  history  of  facts,  and  those 
facts  have  had  to  be  verified  and  arranged.  Thou- 
sands of  letters,  articles,  speeches,  and  reports  have 
required  to  be  studied,  till  my  head  has  fairly  reeled 
and  my  eyes  have  ached. 


THE  PREFACE.  Vll 

But  I  said,  /  Jia%'c  been  helped.  Yes,  I  have  been 
helped  by  God — helped  by  the  remembrance  that  she 
of  whom  I  wrote  was  indeed  a  prophet  of  the  Most 
High,  and  that  it  could  not  but  please  Him  that  the 
messages  which  had  been  uttered  through  her  lips 
and  life  should  be  repeated  through  the  medium  of 
these  pages ;  helped  by  the  thought  that  it  would  be  a 
comfort  to  her  family,  and  an  inspiration  to  our  Army, 
and  to  tens  of  thousands  outside  our  ranks,  to  read  a 
record  of  such  devoted  service. 

It  has  been  a  labor  of  love.  I  undertook  it  with  re- 
luctance, owing  to  a  deep  sense  of  my  insufficiency. 
I  conclude  it  with  regret,  realising  how  greatly  God 
has  blest  it  to  my  soul.  I  send  it  forth  with  the  sin- 
cere prayer  that  it  may  be  made  an  equal  blessing  to 
all  who  read,  and  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  re-live, 
at  least  in  miniature,  the  life  of  Catherine  Booth. 

F.  DE  L.  Booth-Tucker. 

loi  Queen  Victoria  St.,  London,  E.  C. , 
2d  July,  1892. 


GENERAL  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Shadowland.     1820-1829. 

PAGE 

Future  greatness  foreshadowed. — A  modern  pilgrimage. — Mrs. 
Booth's  mother. — A  tragic  loye-story. — "I  believe  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins." — The  Siren's  melody. — A  remarkable 
conversion. — Divinely  healed. — "This  way  to  the  pit." 
— Mrs.  Booth's  grandfather. — A  stormy  scene. — John  Mum- 
ford.  ^Turned  out  of  home. — Sarah  Milward's  marriage. — 
A  touching  reconciliation. — The  grandfather's  death. — "Be- 
yond the  river,"       .........       i 

CHAPTER    H. 

Childhood.     1829-1834. 

Mrs.  Booth's  birth-place. — A  death-bed  scene. — A  wise 
mother. — About  nurseries. — And  playmates. — A  mother's 
girl. — Sensitive  conscience. — The  weeping  child. — Brothers 
gone  before. — Eschewing  French. — Jeanne  d'Arc. — Bible 
studies. — The   doll  family. — A  dark  shadow. — Restoration,     13 

CHAPTER    HI. 

Early  Days.     1834-1841. 

Removal  to  Boston. — The  child  politician  and  temperance  sec- 
retary.— Contributing  to  magazine. — Catholic  emancipation 
question. — Sense  of  responsibility. — Sympathetic  charac- 
ter.— The  child  and  the  criminal. — First  open-air  pro- 
cession.— Death  of  favourite  dog. — Love  for  dumb  ani- 
mals.— Kindness  to  donkeys. — Feeding  horses  by  night. — 
Saving  a  donkey  from  ill-treatment. — Love  for  religious 
meetings. — "Over  the  Bible  to  Hell." — Love  of  Method- 
ism.— Self-sacrifice. — Collecting  for  missions,         .         .         .22 


X  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 
School  Life.     1841-1843. 

PAGE 

Modern  system  of  education. — Its  evils. — Mrs.  Booth's  views. — 
"One  language  enough  for  the  devil." — Mrs.  Booth  at 
school. — Character  for  truthfulness. — Appointed  monitor. — 
Helping  others  with  their  studies. — Estimate  of  Napoleon 
and  Caesar. — Spinal  complaint. — Knowledge  of  church  his- 
tor5^ — Notes  on  Butler's  "Analogy." — "Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress. " — In  the  wilderness,       .         .         .         ...         .         -33 

CHAPTER    V. 

Youth.     1844-1847. 

A  love  episode. — Removal  to  London. — The  Metropolis. — Car- 
riage accident. — Mrs.  Booth's  conversion. — Joins  the  Wes- 
leyan  Church. — Indefinite  preaching. — Praying  in  the  class- 
meeting. — Mechanical  testimonies. — Class-leader's  daugh- 
ter.— Worldly  conformity,       .......     42 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Her  Diary.      1847-1848. 

Serious  illness. — Visit  to  Brighton. — Letter  to  mother. — Praying 
for  her  father. — Early  correspondence. — Visiting  the  sick. — 
Sunday-school.^ — A  tragic  incident. — Inward  struggles.  — 
Perfect  love. — Trusting,  .         .         .         .         .         .         -53 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Refor.mers.     1844-1852. 

Reform  agitation. —  Wesley's  successors. —  The  Legal  Hun- 
dred.— The  Fly  Sheets. — The  men  in  masks. — The  brotherly 
question. — The  Wesleyan  Tt'incs. — Acrimonious  disputes. — 
Caughey's  banishment. — Wanted,  an  Elisha. — Miss  Mum- 
ford  a  radical. — Her  sympathy  with  the  Reformers. — Retal- 
iatory measures. — Miss  Miimford  expelled  from  the  Wesley- 
an Church. — Joins  the  Reformers. — Becomes  a  class-lead- 
er.— Disappointed  with  the  Reformers,  .         .         .         .63 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

William  Booth.     1829-1852. 

Born  in  Nottingham  loth  April,  1829. — His  mother. — His 
father. — Converted  at  fifteen. — His  friend  Sansom. — Cottage 
meetings. — Processions    and    open-airs. — Please    go  to  the 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

back-door. — Sunday  toil. — A  local  preacher  at  seventeen. — 
Called  to  the  ministry  at  nineteen.— The  doctor's  objec- 
tion.— Worshipped  John  Wesley. — Goes  to  London  in  1849. — 
"The  only  son  of  my  mother." — His  earliest  extant  letters 
to  John  Savage. — Not  a  single  "Amen."— His  plan  of  cam- 
paign.— "A  ministry  of  the  talents." — Too  much  of  the 
shroud. — A  stirring  letter. — Preachers  are  not  wanted. — 
No  interest  in  the  Reformers. — Resigns  his  local  preacher- 
ship. — His  ticket  of  membership  withheld. — A  heresy-hunt- 
ing superintendent.— Joins  the  Reformers. — His  friend  Mr. 
Rabbi tts.—Binfield  House.— Meets  Miss  Mumford.— The 
best  sermon  yet.— Meeting  at  Mr.  Rabbitts'.— "The  Grog- 
sellers'  Dream." — Water  was  the  favoured  drink,         .         .     72 

^  CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Engagement.  1852. 
loth  April,  1852. — Mr.  Booth  becomes  a  minister. — Passing  rich 
on  fifty  pounds  a  year. — Democratic  tyranny. — The  party 
of  reconciliation. — Mrs.  Booth's  love-letters. — "I  will  tram- 
ple on  the  desolations  of  my  own  heart." — 15th  of  May. — 
A  memorable  engagement. — An  eloquent  betrothal  letter. 
—"Don't  sit  up  singing  till  midnight. "—The  Ganges  and 
the  Jumna,       ........•• 


88 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  Congregationalists.  1852. 
Mr.  Booth  tired  of  debates. — Proposes  to  join  the  Congregation- 
alists.—Calls  on  Dr.  Campbell.— Offers  for  Cotton  End.— 
Studies  the  "Reign  of  Grace"  with  Miss  Mumford. — Cannot 
swallow  Calvinism. — Declines  a  call  to  Ryde. — Gives  his  last 
sixpence  to  a  dying  girl,  .......     98 

CHAPTER    XI. 

London  and  Spalding.     1852. 
Mr.  Booth  rejoins  the   Reformers.— Spalding  Circuit.— Engage- 
ment  letters.— Admirable  advice.— Fear  of  man. — Prayer. 
—Ambition.— Study.— Teetotalisrft.—" Spalding  will  not  be 
your  final  destination,"    ........   107 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Woman.     1S53. 

Preparation  for  future    duties. — Woman's  sphere.— A  parlour 

skirmish. — Letter   to  Dr.  Thomas   on  woman's   equality. — 

Scriptural   evidence. — Intellectual    and    moral    heroines. — 


xii  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

"Those  who  rock  the  cradle  rule  the  world." — Woman  and 
the  press. — Mrs.  Booth  converted  to  woman's  right  to 
preach. — Ministers'  wives. — Tattle  and  tea-parties. — "Light 
reading." — Novels,  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .116 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Views  on  Courtship  and  Marriage.  1853. 
Mrs.  Booth's  originality. — A  good  hater. — Broken  vows. — The 
evils  of  hurry. — No  doubts. — Act  on  princi^ple. — Congeni- 
ality of  temperament. — Friend  and  counsellor  rather  than 
breadwinner  and  housekeeper. — Refinement  linked  to  drudg- 
ery.— Truly  converted. — An  indispensable  qualification. — 
The  root  of  three-fourths  of  matrimonial  misery. — Lordship 
lost  in  love. — No  physical  repugnance. — Natural  instinct 
too  strong  for  reason. — Mere  physical  attractions  useless. — 
A  teetotaller  from  conviction. — Preferences  of  taste. — Rules 
for  married  life. — No  secrets. — One  purse. — Unity  of 
thought  and  action. — No  controversy  before  the  children,   .    130 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Methodist  New  Connexion.  1854. 
The  first  Salvation  Army  Captain. — Mr.  Booth's  popularity. — 
His  first  journal. — Swineshead  Bridge  revival. — Caistor  re- 
vival.— The  Methodist  New  Connexion. — Their  origin. — 
Alexander  Kilham. — Mr.  Booth  urges  the  Reformers  to  join 
them. — Abortive  negotiations. — Correspondence  with  Dr. 
Cooke. — The  Spalding  Circuit  will  not  join. — An  evangel- 
istic career  opens  out. — Joins  the  New  Connexion,        .         .   139 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Correspondence  and  Conflicts.  1854. 
Conflicting  views. — Sacrificing  a  present  for  a  future  good. — No 
friends  to  martial  law.— These  Jehus  were  Jehus  still. — The 
course  of  genius  never  did  run  smooth. — Manufacturing  an 
aggressive  force  inside  the  church. — A  fossilised  past. — The 
Caesars  of  the  past  the  MoJtkes  of  the  present. — The  spirit 
of  the  times 152 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

London.     1854. 
Mr.  Booth's  reception  by   Dr.  Cooke. — Studying  for  the  min- 
istry.— A  revival  in   the  East  End. — Unanimously  accepted 
by  the  Conference. — Letter  from   Miss  Mumford. — Caistor 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAGE 

revisited. — Sermon  sketches  by  Miss  Mumford. — She  visits 
Burnham. — Some  beautiful  letters. — An  Irvingite  Chapel. — 
No  hobbies. — Nor  fanaticism. — A  beautiful  scene,       .         .   162 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Mrs.  Booth's  First  Published  Article.  1S54. 
How  to  take  care  of  new  converts. — A  simple  analogy. — Con- 
genial food. — A  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere. — A  cold 
church. — Cleansing  of  impurities. — Freedom  from  undue 
restraint. — Dangers  of  inactivity. — Serving  God  by  proxy. 
— Women's  work. — Talents  are  meant  to  be  used,  .         .   171 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
First  Evan&elistic  Tour.  1854-1855. 
London  as  a  field  for  work. — Hard  soil. — Conditions  of  life. — 
Poverty  and  wealth. — London  successes. — Guernsey  revival. 
— An  unpromising  beginning. — A  grand  finish. — Two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  conversions. — Longton  and  Hanley  revi- 
vals.— Four  hundred  and  sixty  penitents. — A  touching  letter 
from  Miss  Mumford. — No  fear  of  loving  too  much,      .         .178 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Wedding.  1855. 
A  striking  contrast. — A  great  opportunity. — A  quiet  ceremony. 
— i6th  June,  1855. — Married  by  Dr.  Thomas. — A  congrega- 
tionless  chapel. — Craving  for  privacy. — Talent-hiding  ten- 
dencies.— The  pictureless  frame,  and  the  frameless  picture. 
— A  brief  honeymoon. — Guernsey  again. — The  old  auto- 
graphs,      190 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Revivals  and  Correspondence.     1855. 

One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-nine  penitents  seek  sal- 
vation.— Jersey  visited. — The  first  separation. — Letters. — 
Mr.  Booth  at  York. — Rejoined  I9y  Mrs.  Booth  at  Hull. — 
The  Hull  revival. — Caistor  revisited. — A  country  scene. — 
The  taking  of  Sebastopol, .198 

CHAPTER    XXI. 
Sheffield.     Chatsworth.     Correspondence.     1855. 
Six  hundred  and  sixty-three  conversions  in  a  month. — The  prog- 
ress of  the  work  described  by  Mrs.    Booth  in  letters  to  her 


xiv  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

mother.— The  General's  mother.— A  remarkable  love-feast. 
— A  forest  of  heads. — Seventy-six  penitents. — "Do  not 
worry." — Luke  Tyerman. — Visit  to  Chatsworth. — Her  na- 
tive county. — Romantic  scenery. — The  rocks  of  Middleton 
Dale. — Mark  Firth. — The  designer  of  the  Crystal  Palace,    .   206 

CHAPTER    XXn. 

Deavsbury.  1855. 
Mrs.  Booth  seriously  ill. — Studies  homoeopathy. — Revival  in 
Dewsbury. — Four  hundred  and  forty  converts. — The  Wes- 
ley an  Times. — Helping  the  penitents. — Letters  to  mother. — 
The  Pilot. — A  triumphant  farewell. — The  Wesleyans  wel- 
come Mr.  Booth, 218 

CHAPTER  XXHL 

Leeds.  1855-1856. 
A  Christless  Christmas. — The  Hunslet  revival. — Mrs.  Booth  de- 
scribes the  work. — Singing  like  larks. — Pretty  sermons. — 
Getting  the  truth  home  to  the  heart. — A  bazaar.— Refusal 
to  visit. — A  watch-night  service. — A  councillor  converted. 
— Ebenezer  chapel. — Eight  hundred  penitents. — A  curtain 
lecture,    ...........   226 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Halifax.  Macclesfield.  Yarmouth.  1856. 
Dr.  Stacey  reports  six  hundred  and  forty-one  conversions  at 
Halifax. — Three  thousand  persons  spiritually  awakened  in 
seven  months. — Mr.  Booth's  capacity  for  hard  work. — Sub- 
jugating mankind's  Niagaras. — The  dangers  of  lack- 
leaderism  contrasted  with  the  tyrannies  of  unsanctified 
genius. — Birth  of   Bramwell  Booth. — A  Bible  for  the  baby. 

— Mrs.    Booth   on  sudden  conversions. — "There    go    's 

mushrooms." — The  devil's  toadstools. — Thirty  babies  bap- 
tised with  her  son  Bramwell. — A  holiness  preacher. — Re- 
newal of  Mr.  Booth's  evangelistic  commission  by  the  Con- 
ference.— Yarmouth. — Mrs.  Booth  on  spiritual  children,      .   241 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Sheffield.     1856. 

Sheffield  characteristics. — National  and  provincial  peculiarities. 

— Good  and  bad  soil. — Tendency  of  civilisation  to  neglect  the 

heart  for  the  head. — Restoration  of  heart  pulsation  needed. 

—The  intellectual  hero  of    the  day.— Mrs.  Booth's   quarrel 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.  xv 

PAGE 

with  modern  education. — A  warm  welcome. — Six  hundred 
and  forty-six  names  taken. — Keeping  the  converts. — Why 
the  Salvation  Army  was  started. — The  farewell  tea. — A 
proud  position. — The  lithographic  portrait  of  Mr.  Booth. — 
The  presentation  meeting. — The  labourer  not  worthy  of 
his  hire. — Why  testimonials  were  abolished,  .         .         .251 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Birmingham.  Nottingh.^m.  Chester.  1856-1857. 
The  Birmingham  campaign. — Mrs.  Booth  on  religious  excite- 
ment.— The  meetings  in  Nottingham. — Seven  hundred  and 
forty  conversions. — The  chapel  filled. — Every  sitting  let. — 
Mr.  Wright's  opposition. — Mr.  Booth's  diary. — Mrs.  Booth 
proceeds  to  London  while  Mr.  Booth  goes  to  Chester. — 
Newspaper  opposition. — First  signs  of  row^dyism. — "The 
words  seemed  like  jagged  daggers." — "What  must  I  do  to 
be  damned?" — Icy-hearted,  all-brained  people. — Mr.  Regi- 
nald Radcliffe  at  an  execution. — Makes  Mr.  Booth  an  offer. 
— The  country  people. — A  poacher  converted. — Correspond- 
ence.— Mr.  Booth  on  homoeopathy. — Not  a  congenial  soul, 
except  the  disembodied  one's  that  dwell  in  books,         .         .   262 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
Bristol.  Truro.  St.  Agnes,  1857. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  meet  in  London. — Start  for  Bristol. — A 
hard  struggle. — Thwarted  by  circumstances. — The  mys- 
terious element  of  liberty  in  public  speaking. — Advantages 
of  the  pulpit  over  the  political  platform  and  the  stage. — 
Mrs.  Booth's  influence  on  an  audience. — Oblivious  to  time. 
— Musical  cadences  of  her  voice. — First  visit  to  Cornwall. — 
A  land  of  chapels. — Difficult  to  be  moved. — Pure  children 
of  emotion. — A  hurricane  of  excitement. — St.  Agnes. — 
"Going  olf. " — The  woman  who  jumped. — Decency  and  or- 
der.— Mrs.  Booth  on  manifestation  of  feeling. — Afraid  of  a 
kind-hearted  grandmother. — Ominous  rumours,   .         .         .  275 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

The  Conference  of  1857. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  at  Stafford. — The  nest  and  the  beetle. — Is 
it  an  omen? — The  Conference  stop  the  evangelistic  work 
by  a  majority  of  four,  after  a  five-hour  debate. — Mr.  Wright 
leads  the  opposition. — Mr.  Booth  asks  for  an  explanation. 
— Mrs.    Booth   indignant.  —  The   expenses  guaranteed. — A 


xvi  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

jealous  clique. — Mrs.  Booth  would  have  resigned. — But 
Mr.  Booth  loves  the  Connexion. — And  agrees  to  take  a 
circuit. — A  characteristic  letter  from  another  evangelist. — "I 
could  wish  to  be  your  shoeblack." — "You're  as  square  as  a 
brick." — The  value  of  organisation. — Mrs.  Booth  more  of  a 
free-lance  Whitefield  than  an  organising  Wesley. — A  happy 
design  of  Providence,      ........  287 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Brighouse.     1857. 

A  sad  year. — A  difficult  cause. — But  many  are  converted. — And 
her  son  Ballington  is  born. — The  embryo  of  the  Salvation 
Army  within  the  four  corners  of  a  fainily. — General  Booth's 
first  recruits. — He  wishes  there  had  been  eighty  instead  of 
eight. — Israel  a  family  affair. — The  mysteries  of  criticism. — 
"  I  will  not  have  a  wicked  child. " — Paganini  and  the  violin. 
— Putting  the  children  into  the  movement. — Mrs.  Booth 
leads  a  class. — Her  first  public  effort. — She  addresses  the 
Band  of  Hope. — Proposes  to  give  temperance  lectures. — 
But  is  prevented  by  illness. — A  letter,  ....   298 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Brighouse.      1858. 

Serious  illness  of  Mrs.  Booth. — Her  son  Ballington  is  baptised  by 
Mr.  Caughey. — Mrs.  Booth  on  factory  legislation. — The 
annual  conference  at  Hull. — Mr.  Booth  is  ordained  at  the 
end  of  his  four  years'  probation. — Winning  golden  opinions 
by  keeping  quiet. — Continued  opposition  to  the  evangelistic 
work. — A  compromise  proposed. — Mr.  Booth  consents  to 
take  Gateshead  circuit,   ........  308 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Gateshead,  the  Converting  Shop.     1858-1859. 

The  circuit  in  a  low  state. — But  a  large  chapel. — The  members 
warm-hearted. — The  best  appointment. — The  minister's 
wife  leads  off  in  prayer. — The  attendance  increases. — Many 
are  converted. — The  chapel  crowded. — The  converting 
shop. — Popular  nomenclature. — Taproom  phraseology. — A 
Gelavoonkaraya. — The  Ratchagar  caste. — Pedantic  phrase- 
ology.— Theology  wedded  to  the  language  of  bygone  days. 
— Christopher  Columbus   and  the  greyhounds   of  the  At- 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.        .  xvil 

PAGE 

lantic. — Birth  of  La  Marechale. — A  powerful  revival. — 
Three  hundred  converts. — The  town  stirred. — Another  ba- 
zaar.— Mrs.  Booth  on  church  bazaars, 317 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
Gateshead.  1858-1859. 
A  narrow  escape. — No  distinctions,  such  as  forty  kisses  for  Willie 
and  twenty  for  the  baby. — No  coat  of  many  colours. — Mrs. 
Mumford's  needle-work. — Mrs.  Booth  on  dress. — Not  only 
l>6'  separate,  but  appear  so. — A  lesson  in  generosity. — 
Visiting  the  poor. — Work  among  drunkards. — An  interest- 
ing scrap  of  autobiography. — "Have  you  ever  tried  lard 
isted  o'  booter?" — Washing  the  twins  in  a  pie-dish,     .         .   327 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Gateshead.  Mrs.  Booth's  First  Pamphlet.  1859. 
The  Annual  Conference  meets  at  Manchester. — Mr.  Booth  re- 
appointed to  Gateshead. — Mr.  Booth  attends  the  Confer- 
ence.— He  proposes  a  resolution  in  favour  of  teetotalism. — 
But  is  defeated. — Dissatisfaction  with  conferences. — Ad- 
vantages of  military  organisation. — Mrs.  Booth  writes  her 
pamphlet  on  Female  Ministry  in  defence  of  Mrs.  Phoebe 
Palmer. — The  value  of  women's  work  to  the  church. — Per- 
fection not  necessary,      ........  339 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

Gateshead,  i860. 
Necessity  for  conflict. — Impossible  to  improve  the  future  with- 
out disturbing  the  present. — A  life-long  warfare  on  behalf 
of  women. — A  skirmish  with  Dr.  Stacey. — A  grievous 
wrong  inflicted  on  spirit-baptised  disciples. — Mrs.  Booth 
opened  the  door  for  thousands, 350 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 
Gateshead.     Mrs.  Booth  Commences  Preaching,     i860. 
The  birth  of  Emma.— A  call  to  public  work.— Whit-Sunday  at 
the    Converting    Shop. — Mrs.  Booth   breaks   the   ice.— Mr 
Booth  announces  her  for  the  night  meeting. — The  servant 
dances  round  the  kitchen  table. — An  enthusiastic  reception 
at   night.— "Be    filled   with   the   Spirit. "—Invitation    from 
Newcastle.— The  Annual  Conference.— Mr.  Booth  consents 
to  remain  at  Gateshead  for  another  year.— His  illness.— Mrs. 
Booth  supplies  his  place  nine  weeks.— Some   autobiograph- 


xviii  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

ical  letters. — Harmony  among  the  officials. — Mrs.  Booth's 
administrative  ability. — The  iron  hand  in  the  velvet  glove. — 
A  headless  community  like  a  riderless  horse. — The  govern- 
ment of  the  best. — The  rule  of  all  is  the  rule  of  none. — 
Ability  recognised,  not  deified. — Knowledge  subordinated 
to  holiness  and  power  sanctified  by  love,       .         .         .         -357 

CHAPTER     XXXVI. 

Gateshead.  1860-1861. 
Mr.  Booth's  illness. — The  children  ill  with  whooping-cough. — 
The  frock  is  too  smart. — Capacity  for  dealing  with  trivial- 
ities of  life. — Mrs.  Booth  in  the  nursery. — Preparing  ser- 
mons under  difficulties. — '''We  lacked  a  General." — A 
unanimous  resolution. — Mr.  Booth  returns  from  his  fur- 
lough.— Careful,  but  not  mean. — Financial  struggles,  .  371 

CHAPTER    XXXVH. 

Gateshead.  Mrs.  Booth  on  Holiness.  1861. 
A  believer's  privilege. — Wesley's  teaching. — Theory  and  prac- 
tice.— Mrs.  Booth  preaches  on  Holiness. — Seeks  the  bless- 
ing.— The  question  of  the  evangelistic  work. — The  contro- 
versy settled. — A  beautiful  experience. — The  twin  pillars, 
Jachin  and  Boaz. — "How  much  like  God  can  we  be?" — 
Purity  the  central  idea  of  the  Gospel. — Do  not  measure 
others'  privilege  by  your  faith, 381 

CHAPTER    XXXVHI. 

Gateshead.  "Just  Before  the  Battle."  1861. 
A  turning-point. — The  Cross  the  shibboleth  of  the  hypo- 
crite.— Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  appeal  to  the  Conference  for  the 
fulfilment  of  their  pledges  regaiding  the  evangelistic 
sphere. — The  Annual  Committee  send  a  cool  reply. — Pre- 
paring for  the  worst. — A  revival  in  Gateshead. — Two  hun- 
dred names  taken. — The  district  meeting  memorialise  the 
Conference  in  favour  of  the  evangelistic  work. — Mr.  Joseph 
Love,  the  millionaire,  supports  the  proposal. — Promises 
to  answer  for  all  expenses. — Mrs.  Booth  visits  Hartlepool. — 
Extraordinary  revival. — Two  hundred  and  fifty  penitents 
in  ten  days. — Letter  to  her  mother,       .....  390 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 
The  Resignation.     1S61. 
The  Conference  meets  in  Liverpool. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  at- 
tend it  together. — They  anticipate  some  sharp  fighting. — Mr. 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.  xix 

PAGE 

Rabbitts  supports  them. — Mrs.  Booth  disappointed  with 
the  Conference. — Fatal  mistake  in  church  government. — 
The  rule  of  books. — Dr.  Cooke. — Cowardice  a  prevailing  sin. 
Dr.  Crofts  becomes  President. — Rev.  P.  J.  Wright  again 
heads  the  opposition. — A  remarkable  debate. — A  compro- 
mise proposed. — Mrs.  Booth  protests  from  the  gallery. — 
"Order  !  order  !" — A  thrilling  scene. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth 
leave  the  Conference. — The  ark  is  launched,         .         .         .   405 

CHAPTER    XL. 

The  Resignation.     1861. 

Dr.  Cooke  and  the  compromise. — The  Newcastle  circuit. — A 
gloomy  Sunday. — The  last  sitting  of  the  Conference. — 
"  Without  a  friend  and  without  a  farthing. " — The  ultimatum 
rejected. — A  last  attempt  to  come  to  terms. — The  Circuit 
willing. — But  the  President  objects. — Alnwick. — Mr.  Booth 
starts  for  London,  .........  414 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

The  Resignation.     i86r. 

Mr.  Booth  in  London. — Measuring  accomplishments  by  pos- 
sibilities.— Letters  from  London.— Mr.  Hammond. — Mr. 
Pearse. — The  Garrick  Theatre. — LTndenominational  mis- 
sions.— Dr.  Forbes  Winslow. — William  Carter. — Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Booth  at  Nottingham. — The  letter  from  Dr.  Crofts. — 
The  last  link  severed. — Resignation  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  President. — Mrs.  Booth  returns  to  London. — Mr.  Booth 
brings  the  children  by  sea  from  Newcastle. — A  new  depar- 
ture.— Waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  fiery  pillar,         .         .  422 

CHAPTER    XLH. 

The  Cornish  Campaign. 

Reviving  the  Churches. — Reaching  the  masses  via  the  Chris- 
tians.— The  "regions  beyond." — The  Cornish  plan  of  cam- 
paign.— How  to  "seat"  a  congregation. — A  glorious 
commencement. — With  the  Wesleyans  again. — An  emotion- 
al people. — "Decently  and  in  order." — A  remarkable 
manifestation. — Salvation  the  universal  theme. — Monster 
tea-meeting  on  the  Towans. — A  touching  farewell,      .         .  433 


XX  GENERAL    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

The  Cornish  Campaign.     1862. 

PAGE 

St.  Ives  and  its  pilchards. — A  temperance  movement. — The 
churches  and  teetotalism. — Mrs.  Booth  on  the  liquor 
traffic. — Letter  from  Mrs.  Palmer. — The  revival  in  St. 
Ives. — More  than  a  thousand  conversions. — Public-houses 
deserted. — "Is  there  mercy  for  sirch  a  wretch?" — Conver- 
sions noisy  and  quiet. — Do  they  stand?         ....  449 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

The  Cornish  Campaign.     1862. 

St.  Just. — Rev.  Robert  Aitken  of  Pendeen. — Charles  Wesley 
and  the  country  squire. — The  penitent-form  controversy. — 
An  unfinished  sermon. — Glorious  irregularity. — Miners 
leaving  their  work  to  get  saved. — The  Police  Inspector's 
testimon}'. — A  sacred  corner,  ......  461 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

The  Cornish  Campaign.     1862. 

Mrs.  Booth's  first  service  for  women. — Her  views  on  fashion. — 
On  orphanages. — On  timidity. — The  king  of  the  Wesley- 
ans. — His  opinion  of  Mrs.  Booth. — Mrs.  Booth  at  home. — 
The  Wesleyan  Chapel. — "What  about  the  revival?" — The 
volunteers  leave  their  drill. — The  suspension  of  business. — 
"One  and  all." — The  Lelant  church  and  its  legend. — The 
angel-visits. — Sailing  under  black  colors 473 

CHAPTER    XLVI. 

The  Three  Conferences.      1862. 

The  Methodists  New  Connection  accept  Mr.  Booth's  resignation. 
— Without  a  "thank  you." — Not  a  "split." — The  Cornish 
Wesleyans. — An  increase  of  4,247. — Their  Conference. — 
"The  perambulations  of  the  male  and  female." — Boycotted 
again. — A  pitiful  apology. — The  Primitive  Methodists  fol- 
low suit. — Conflict  between  pastoral  and  evangelistic 
agencies. — Raising  of  the  blockade. — An  Australian  tri- 
umph  485 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 

Good-bye  to  Cornwall.    1862. 

Mousehole. — Penzance. — Birth  of  Herbert  Booth. — The  sweet 
psalmist  and  musician. — "Dod  b'ess  de  lady  and  make  her 


GENERAL    CONTENTS.  xxi 

PAGE 

berydood. " — "Me  not  'peakin' to  oo. " — Redruth. — Putting 
up  the  barriers. — 7,500   conversions  in  eighteen  months,     .   493 

CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

Cardiff.     1863. 

Undenominational  effort. — Mrs.  Booth's  first  meetings  in  a 
circus. — Her  views  on  the  state  of  the  world. — A  physician 
and  his  wife. — No  faith  without  obedience. — Mr.  Booth  at 
Pontypridd. — Five  hundred  conversions. — Messrs.  John  and 
Richard  Cory.— The  S.  S.  William  Booth.— How  to  deal 
with  cavil,       ..........  503 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

The  Provinces.     1863. 

Newport. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Billups. — An  intimate  friendship. — 
Walsall. — Upsetting  the  meetings. — The  prize-fighter, 
the  horse-racer,  and  the  thief. — "I  linked  my  arm  in  that 
of  a  navvy  with  a  white  slop  on." — The  saved  chim- 
ney-sweep.—  A  monster  camp-meeting. —  The  HaUelujah 
Band. — The  future  foreshadowed,  .         .         .         .         -513 

CHAPTER  L. 

The  Provinces.     1863-1864. 

The  General  meets  with  an  accident. — Mr.  Bramwell  Booth's 
conversion. — Mrs.  Booth  leads  the  meetings. — Hydrop- 
athy.— Birmingham. — Old  Hill. — Hasbury. — Mrs.  Booth  at 
the  Lye. — "I  never  saw  so  much  weeping." — An  outside 
testimony. — Leeds. — Lady  Lane. — Meadow  Lane. — Gates- 
head.— Birth  of  Miss  Marian  Booth. — A  letter  from 
Caughey. — Mrs.  Booth  atBatley;  Pudsey  and  Woodhouse 
Carr. — Five  hundred  conversions. — "We  can't  get  at  the 
masses  in  the  chapels," 527 

CHAPTER    LI. 

London.     1865. 

The  metropolis  and  the  provinces. — Mrs.  Booth's  first  meet- 
ings in  London. — Rotherhithe. — "Come  and  hear  a  woman 
preach." — The  daughters  of  the  landlord  of  the  Europa. — 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  settle  in  Hammersmith. — Mr.  Morgan 
questions  female  ministry. — But  is  convinced. — The  CJiris- 
tian. — A  letter    regarding    Holiness. — Bermondsey.  —  The 


xxii  GENERAL   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Gospel     Gtiide    describes      Mrs.       Booth. —  The    Midnight 
movement,      .  .........    538 

CHAPTER  LII. 

Foundation  of  the  Salvation  Army.     1865. 

The  Quaker  Burial  Ground  in  Whitechapel. — A  valley  of  dry- 
bones. — The  East  End  Bethlehem. — The  meetings  in  the 
tent. — The  formation  of  th.e '' Christian  Revival  Associa- 
tion."— The  lowest  level  of  the  social  strata. — Mr.  Booth 
and  Feargus  O'Connor. — "My  arms  are  not  long  enough." — 
Mrs.  Booth  and  the  upper  classes. — The  syrup  without 
the  sulphur. — His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Rackrent. — Mrs.  Booth 
denounces  the  cruelty  of  hunting. — On  War. — Poverty  and 
vulgarity  synonymous  with  sin. — Miss  Booth  visiting  the 
prison. — "She's  all  there." — The  criminal  classes. — Mr. 
Moneymaker. — Mrs.  Booth  on  "sweating." — Mrs.  Booth  in 
the  kitchen. — Among  the  wealthy,  .....   548 

CHAPTER   LHI. 

Mr.  Morley  and  the  East  London  Mission. 

Mrs.  Booth  at  Deptford. — Her  first  West  End  Campaign. — The 
Polytechnic. — Kensington  Assembly  Rooms. — Islington. — 
Removal  of  home  from  Hammersmith  to  Hackney. — The 
tent  blown  down. — The  East  End  heathen. — Another  new 
departure. — "We  have  trusted  the  Lord  once  and  we  can 
trust  him  again." — Mr.  Samuel  Morley. — The  meeting  of 
the  Stanley  and  the  Livingstone  of  Darkest  England. — A 
sleeping  partner. — Some  letters  from  Mr.  Morley. — A  gene- 
rous donation. — The  dancing-saloon. — Some  early  con- 
verts,      ...........   561 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

The  East  London  Mission.     1866. 

Birth  of  Miss  Eva  Booth. — Walking  the  waters. — The  spirit  of 
Calvary. — Beating  the  Good  Samaritan. — Mrs.  Booth  at 
Peckham. — A  severe  illness. — Mr.  Henry  Reed  of  Dunor- 
lan. — Mrs.  Booth  at  Dunorlan. — Makes  Mr.  Reed  her  time- 
keeper.— "Never  mind  the  time!  Go  on." — Nervous  col- 
lapse.— Heaven's  gifts  in  strange  wrappers. — A  lifelong 
martyrdom. — The  family  homes. — Each  room  an  office. — 
A  latter-day  Bethel, 573 


GENERAL   CONTENTS.  xxiii 

CHAPTER  LV. 

Mak(;ate.      1867. 

PAGE 

St.  John's  Wood. — The  Eyre  Arms  Assembly  Rooms. — Mrs. 
Newenham. — A  remarkable  offer. — Larger  than  Spurgeon's 
Tabernacle. — Birth  of  Miss  Lucy  Booth. — Musical  ability. — 
A  visit  to  Ramsgate. — The  Royal  Assembly  Rooms,  Mar- 
gate.— A  successful  campaign. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Freeman. — 
Miss  Billups. — Mr.  Knight,  the  publisher,  offers  to  report 
Mrs.  Booth's  sermons. — Her  plan  of  preaching. — A  false 
and  a  real  love. — With  Jesus  in  the  mud,       ....   584 

CHAPTER    LVL 

Behind  the  Pigeon  Shop.     1866-67. 

Early  struggles  in  the  East  End. — Holywell  Mount. — The  stable 
and  the  sparring-club. — The  carpenter's  shop  and  pig- 
styes. — The  skittle-alley. — Behind  the  pigeon  shop. — The 
East  End  Thermopylae. — The  Hare  Street  bird  market. — 
A  strange  contrast. — Muggins  and  the  linnet. — "A  finch 
wot'll  peg." — Two  early  converts  now  in  heaven. — Jack 
Price. — Carry  Berry. — Unexpected  help. — The  Effingham 
Theatre. — The  Eastern  Star. — Finst  headquarters  of  the 
Salvation  Army,      .........   593 

CHAPTER   LVH. 

Plymouth  Brethrenism. 

The  five  leading  doctrines  of  the  Brethren. — Mrs.  Booth  joins 
issue  on  four  of  them. — Declines  controversy  regarding 
the  Second  Coming. — "Free  from  the  Law." — The  two  na- 
tures.— One  soul  in  hell  and  another  in  heaven. — Regenera- 
tion.— A  doctrinal  hodge-podge. — Imputed  righteous- 
ness.— Standing  in  Christ. — A  substitutionary  Saviour. — 
Christ  a  deliverer  from  sin,  not  a  protection  in  sin. — Only- 
believism. — Right  opinions  do  not  make  right  hearts. — Com- 
plete in  Christ. — A  mock  salvation,        .....   606 

CHAPTER  LVHL 

The  Progress  of  the  Mission.     1868. 

Mrs.  Booth  in  Norwood. — Little  Missions. — Neither  exogen, 
endogen,  nor  acrogen. — Isolated  efforts. — One-idea'd- 
ness. — Self-invited  defeat. — The  first  balance-sheet. — The 
Mission     Council. — 4,000     penitents     during     the     year. — 


XXIV  GENERAL    CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Launching  of  the  first  magazine.  —  The  East  London  Eva7i- 
gelist. — Mrs.  Booth's  articles. — The  spiritual  armada. — 
Joel's  vision, 6i6 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

Correspondence.     1868. 

Mrs. Booth  on  vaccination. — The  "immortal  Jenner. " — Deception 
the  great /"icr/d'  of  the  devil. — Faith  and  unbelief. — "On  the 
incline  as  a  nation." — Illness  and  depression. — Lying 
wounded  in  the  camp. — "The  Booths  will  be  difficult  to 
hold,  but  they  are  worth  the  trouble." — Mr.  Reed  proposes 
to  build  a  hall. — The  offer  falls  through. — The  first  great 
anniversary  celebration. — 1,420  Missioners  visit  Dunor- 
lan. — Hearty  reception  by  Mr.  Reed, 629 

CHAPTER  LX. 

Croydon,  Edinburgh,  Brighton.     1869. 

Mrs.  Booth  at  Croydon. — David  and  Jonathan. — An  invitation 
from  Edinburgh. — The  amalgamation  ceremony. — Mrs. 
Booth's  reception  by  the  Scotch. — Prejudices  vanish. — A 
Covenanter  in  the  land  of  Covenanters. — A  woman- Wal- 
lace.— A  powerful  meeting. — Mrs.  Booth  at  Brighton. — The 
Dome. — Father  Ignatius,         .......   642 

CHAPTER   LXI. 

The  Christian  Mission.     1869-1870. 

Death  of  Mrs.  Booth's  mother. — Her  countenance  illumined. — 
The  East  London  Mission  takes  the  name  of  the  Christian 
Mission. — Purchase  of  the  People's  Market,  Whitechapel. — 
All-Nights  of  prayer. — The  first  experiments  in  the  Social 
Scheme. — Now  a  food  and  shelter  depot. — The  East  End 
Shiloh  and  the  London  Zions.— A  second  trip  to  Dunorlan,  652 


THE  LIFE  OF  MRS.  BOOTH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SHADOWLAND.      1 820-1 829. 

'' Coim'jig  events  east  their  shadows  before." 

The  early  days  of  those  who  have  achieved  great-  Foreshad- 
ness,  and  who  have  left  their  mark,  either  for  good  o/T^e^ 
or  evil,  upon  the  world,  constitute  a  sort  of  shadow-  f'^^'^^^- 
land,  which  possesses  a  peculiar  fascination  of  its 
own.  The  arrival  of  a  new  actor  upon  the  world's 
vast  stage  is  not  always  heralded,  it  is  true,  by  blast 
of  trumpet  and  beat  of  drum,  however  important  may 
be  the  part  that  is  about  to  be  enacted.  The  sur- 
roundings and  circumstances  are  often  surprisingly 
trivial  and  contemptuously  commonplace.  As  with 
the  equinoctial  gales,  such  lives  frequently  come  in 
like  a  lamb,  although  they  are  destined  to  go  out  like 
a  lion.  x\nd  yet  there  is  a  something — Siself-asscriive- 
ncss,  shall  we  call  it? — about  true  genius,  which  en- 
forces recognition  and  extorts  admiration,  so  that, 
even  in  the  undeveloped  bud  of  early  life,  we  find 
ourselves  involuntarily  exclaiming :  The  child  is  verit- 
ably father  to  the  man ! 

True,  at  the  time,  few  eyes  are  keen  enough  to  dis-      Retro- 

.  ,  spections. 

cern  the  substance,  of  which  these  shadows  are  but 
the  type  and  promise.  The  great  To  Be  is  still 
enveloped  in  the  mists  of  futurity.     Its  shadow  falls 


2  MJiS.   BOOTH. 

for  a  moment  with  startling  distinctness  across  our 
path,  only  to  disappear  with  equal  suddenness  from 
our  sight.  And  yet,  viewed  in  the  light  of  retro- 
spect, much  that  was  once  obscure  and  difficult  be- 
comes luminously  plain.  Shadows  are  converted  into 
substance,  possibilities  into  actualities,  fugitive  ex- 
pectations into  sober  accomplishment.  To  look  for- 
ward and  anticipate  the  future  requires  a  prophet,  to 
look  back  and  appreciate  the  past  is  possible  to  all, 
so  that  even  he  who  runs  may  read.  And  thus  we  are 
impelled  to  explore  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the 
child-life,  confident  that  it  contains  abundant  prom- 
ise of  the  great  hereafter.  The  little  cloudlet,  no 
bigger  than  a  man's  hand,  assumes  a  new  interest, 
above  and  beyond  the  many  others  that  we  have  seen, 
because  we  know  that  it  betokens  coming  showers 
and  a  sound  of  abundance  of  rain  for  the  parched  and 
famine-stricken  earth. 

Inklings.  And  yet  the  search  is  often  a  very  disappointing 
one.  The  facts  on  which  we  can  rely  are  few  and  far 
between.  The  witnesses  are  mostly  gone  to  their 
reward,  or  can  remember  scarcely  anything  beyond 
the  ordinary  humdrum  of  life.  There  is  frequently 
little,  or  nothing  in  the  shape  of  written  record  to 
which  we  may  turn,  and  the  meagre  items  we  are 
able  to  gather  are  just  enough  to  make  us  wish  for 
more.  In  short,  we  can  obtain  but  tantalizing 
glimpses,  when  what  our  heart  would  crave  is  a  long 
satisfying  look. 

Mountain  We  are  told  there  is  a  mountain  peak  in  Africa, 
towering  high  above  the  rest,  which  forms  the  most 
conspicuous  landmark  for  scores  of  miles ;  and  yet  so 
perpetually  is  it  hidden  in  mists  and  clouds,  that 
explorers  have  been  within  a  few  miles  without  so 
much  as  discovering  its  existence.      Indeed,  the  same 


SHADOWLAND.  3 

traveller,  who  has  at  one  time  passed  the  spot  and 
noted  nothing  remarkable,  has  been  surprised  when, 
on  a  later  occasion,  the  clouds  have  suddenly  un- 
folded, the  sun  shone  forth,  and  a  snowy  summit  of 
surprising  height  and  surpassing  grandeur  has  dis- 
closed itself  to  view.  For  a  time  it  seems  so  near 
and  so  real  that  he  is  astonished  at  his  own  previous 
obtuseness.  And  then  the  wind  changes,  the  mist 
rolls  swiftly  down  the  mountain-side,  and  he  is 
tempted  to  wonder  whether,  after  all,  the  bewitching 
vision  he  has  just  gazed  upon  may  not  have  been  some 
fancy  of  his  mind,  similar  to  the  water-mirage  of  the 
desert  or  the  deceitful  will-o'-the-wisp  of  the  fens. 

Just  so  with  this  shadowland  of  life.  The  glimpses 
we  obtain  are  so  scanty  and  brief,  that  we  are  bound 
in  some  measure  to  be  disappointed.  And  yet  their 
very  fewness  and  fleetingness  perhaps  add  something 
to  their  attraction,  while  the  distance  through  which 
we  are  obliged  to  gaze  only  serves  to  "  lend  enchant- 
ment to  the  view,"  and  what  we  do  see  stands  out  in 
vivid  distinctness,  like  the  peaks  of  some  mountain 
range  against  the  background  of  the  sky. 

For  those  who  stood  in  the  valley  of  childhood,  the 
horizon  was  so  limited  that  they  could  see  but  little 
beyond  their  own  immediate  surroundings.  To  us, 
who  have  climbed  the  mountain-side  of  life,  it  is 
different.  We  are  able  to  look  down  upon  the  land- 
scape. Every  turn  in  the  road,  every  inch  of  up- 
ward ascent,  brings  some  fresh  surprise.  Here  is  a 
tiny  cascade  leaping  down  the  rocks,  little  more  than 
a  silver  thread  amongst  the  surrounding  foliage  of 
the  forest.  Yonder  flows  a  stately  river  that  sweeps 
for  hundreds  of  miles  through  the  plains,  and  bears 
on  its  bosom  the  largest  ocean-going  craft.  It  is 
difficult  to  realise,  as  we  stand  beside  the  one,  that  it 


4     -  MJiS.   BOOTH. 

will  ever  develop  to  the  size  and  power  of  the  other. 
And  yet  we  cannot  doubt  the  evidence  of  our  senses. 
The  impossible  has  already  come  to  pass  before  our 
eyes. 

And  so  we  turn  to  explore  the  shadowland  of  a  life 
of  which  each  type  has  been  realised,  and  every 
promise  fulfilled.  Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
to  whom  the  stream  has  borne  its  rich  merchandise 
of  spiritual  blessing  will  desire,  no  doubt,  to  trace 
the  river  to  its  rise.  Like  Hindoo  pilgrims,  not  con- 
tent with  bathing  in  the  portion  of  the  stream  that 
happens  to  flow  past  their  dwelling,  they  will  be  eager 
to  follow  its  course  from  the  spot  where  their  sky- 
born  Ganges  descends  from  the  heavens  to  the  broad- 
ening of  its  waters  in  the  trackless  ocean  of  Eternity. 
Mrs.  At  a  very  early  age  flashes  of  the  spirituality,  genius, 

mother,  and  energy,  that  were  destined  to  make  so  indelible 
a  mark  upon  the  world,  surprised  and  gladdened 
Catherine's  mother,  as  she  watched  with  tender  care, 
and  reared  with  difficulty,  the  fragile  girl  who  be- 
came, almost  from  infancy,  her  chief  companion  and 
comforter.  Mrs.  Mumford  was  herself  a  remarkable 
woman,  and  some  of  the  leading  traits  in  the  daugh- 
ter's character  were  no  doubt  inherited  from  the  in- 
tensely practical  and  courageous  mother. 

A  painful  At  the  very  threshold  of  her  life,  an  event  occurred 
which  serves  to  illustrate  the  high  principle  by  which 
Mrs.  Mumford  was  ever  actuated.  She  had  become 
engaged  to  a  gentleman  of  good  position.  Her 
mother  had  died  some  years  previously.  Her  father 
was  one  who  felt  that  his  duty  to  his  daughter  had 
ended  in  supplying  her  temporal  needs.  The  aunt, 
who  kept  house  for  him,  was  a  being  of  harsh,  un- 
sympathetic material.  No  doubt  these  loveless  sur- 
roundings helped  Miss  Milward  to  think  the  more  of 


SHADOWLAND.  5 

her  choice,  and  she  fancied  herself  upon  the  eve  of 
life-long  felicity.  To  her  friends  the  match  seemed 
a  desirable  one,  and  had  met  with  their  unhesitating- 
approbation.  The  prospects  were  brilliant,  and  the 
wedding  day  had  been  fixed,  when,  on  the  very  eve 
of  the  marriage,  certain  circumstances  came  to  her 
knowledge  which  proved  conclusively  that  her  lover 
was  not  the  high-souled,  noble  character  she  had 
supposed  him  to  be,  indeed  that  he  was  unworthy 
of  the  womanly  love  and  confidence  she  had  so  un- 
reservedly reposed  in  him.  With  the  same  prompt- 
ness and  decision  which  afterward  characterised  her 
daughter,  Miss  Milward's  mind  was  made  up,  and  the 
engagement  was  immediately  broken  off. 

It  was  in  vain  that  day  after  day  her  lover  called 
at  the  house,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  persuade  her 
to  relent.  She  dared  not  trust  herself  even  to  see 
him,  lest  she  should  fall  beneath  the  still  keenly 
realised  temptation,  and  lest  her  heart  should  get  the 
better  of  her  judgment.  At  length,  seized  with  de- 
spair, he  turned  his  horse's  head  from  the  door  and 
galloped  away,  he  knew  not,  cared  not,  whither — 
galloped  till  his  horse  was  covered  with  foam — gal- 
loped till  it  staggered  and  fell,  dying,  beneath  him, 
while  he  rose  to  his  feet  a  hopeless  maniac!  The 
anxiety  had  been  too  much  for  his  brain ;  and  the 
next  news  that  Miss  Milward  received  was  that  he 
had  been  taken  to  an  asylum,  where  he  would  prob- 
ably spend  the  rest  of  his  days. 

The  shock  was  a  terrible  one  I     Not  that  she  ever  Miss  MU- 
allowed  herself  to  regret  for  a  moment,  either  then     niness. 
or  subsequently,  the  step  that  she  had  taken.     Her 
sense  of  the  claims  of  righteousness  prevented  this. 
Nevertheless,  she  had  not  anticipated,  far  less  desired, 
that  so  swift  and  terrible  a  retribution  should  over- 


6  MRS.    BOOTH. 

take  him.  She  was  overwhelmed  by  the  catastrophe, 
and,  shutting  herself  into  her  room,  lay  for  sixteen 
weeks  hovering  between  life  and  death. 

Her  extremity  was  God's  opportunity.  Whatever 
man  might  think  of  her  action  in  the  matter,  however 
much  she  might  be  misunderstood  and  misjudged  by 
those  around  her,  the  bold,  brave  stand  she  had  taken 
for  that  which  was  pure  and  good  could  only  be  viewed 
in  one  light  by  the  Supreme  Authorities  of  Heaven. 
And  so  it  came  to  pass,  that,  following  on  this  deluge 
of  sorrow,  and  athwart  its  darkest  cloud,  was  printed 
the  rainbow  promise  of  salvation  which  was  to  glad- 
den and  console  her  after  life,  assuring  her  of  abated 
floods,  of  returning  sunshine,  and  of  "  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory." 
She  is  un-  Sickucss  gave  Miss  Milward  the  opportunity  to 
think,  while  sorrow  and  suffering  combined  to  force 
her  attention  in  the  direction  of  those  spiritual  inter- 
ests which  in  seasons  of  health  and  vigour  all  are  so 
prone  to  neglect.  Cradled  in  the  Church  of  England, 
at  a  time  when  vital  godliness  was  rarer  than  is  now 
happily  the  case,  Miss  Milward  knew  little  or  nothing 
of  the  plan  of  salvation.  True,  she  possessed,  in  a 
specially  vivid  degree,  the  instinct  that  made  her  ab- 
hor that  which  was  wrong,  cruel,  or  cowardly.  Her 
conscience,  moreover,  was  particularly  sensitive.  But 
this  only  helped  to  increase  the  misery  of  her  po- 
Con-      sition,  since  it  enabled  her  to  realise  more    acutely 

VlYtCCCl     of 

sin.  '  the  sins  to  which  she  might  otherwise  have  been 
blind,  and  rendered  impossible  the  false  peace  which 
serves  as  a  treacherous  lullaby  to  so  many  sinful 
hearts,  luring  them  on,  like  the  siren's  melody, 
only  too  swiftly  and  surely  to  their  doom. 

With  Miss  Milward  this  was  now  impossible.     The 
Spirit  of  God  had  striven  with  her.     She  had  listened 


SHADOWLAND. 


to  His  voice.  She  realised  her  guilt  and  danger  as  a 
sinner.  To  be  a  respectable  one  was  no  longer  in 
her  eyes  any  palliation  of  her  sin.  On  the  contrary 
her  position  seemed  the  less  excusable.  Hell  itself 
appeared  too  good  for  one  so  unworthy  as  she  felt 
herself  to  be. 

She  turned  in  her  misery  to  her  Prayer-Book. 
Opening  its  pages,  her  eyes  fell  upon  the  passage, 
"/  believe  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins/'  In  some  way  or 
other  these  words,  which  had  never  before  possessed 
any  special  power  or  meaning,  now  fastened  them- 
selves upon  her  mind.  Continually  she  heard  them 
ringing  in  her  ears,  "  /  believe  in  the  forgiveness  of 
sins."  For  hours  she  lay  with  her  fingers  placed 
upon  the  line.  "  And  yet,"  she  would  say  to  herself, 
"  what  good  is  this  forgiveness,  if  I  cannot  obtain  it 
here  and  now — if  I  have  to  wait,  as  I  am  told,  till  after 
death  for  the  assurance.  This,  ah  this,  is  just  what 
my  soul  craves !  Alas,  that  it  should  be  so  far  beyond 
my  reach!" 

The  question  preyed  upon  her  mind  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  render  her  recovery  impossible.  The 
doctor  who  had  been  attending  her  seized  an  oppor- 
tunity for  telling  Mr.  Milward  that  some  secret  sor- 
row was  evidently  affecting  his  daughter,  and  neu- 
tralising all  the  efforts  made  for  her  restoration.  It 
was  important,  he  added,  that  the  difficulty  should  be 
discovered,  and  if  possible  removed. 

Naturally  enough  her  father  ascribed  everything 
to  the  unhappy  occurrences  which  had  been  the  orig- 
inal cause  of  her  illness,  little  thinking  that  the 
grounds  for  her  mental  anxiety  had  undergone  so 
radical  a  change.  Desiring  to  comfort  her,  he  mani- 
fested a  tenderness  and  solicitude  to  which  the 
motherless  girl  had  hitherto  been  a  stransfer.     And 


Turns    to 
her 
prayer- 
book. 


The 
doctor^s 
verdict. 


8 


MJiS.   BOOTH. 


Hears  of 
the  Meth- 
odists. 


Her  con- 
version. 


yet  to  unburden  her  heart  to  him  would,  she  knew,  be 
useless.  Although  a  regular  church-goer,  her  father 
could  not  understand  the  experiences  through  which 
she  was  passing. 

By  a  remarkable  coincidence,  which  was  surely 
more  than  accidental,  the  Methodists  had  at  this 
time  commenced  to  hold  meetings  in  the  town,  buy- 
ing from  Mr.  Milward  a  piece  of  land  on  which  to 
erect  their  chape'l.  The  news  that  many  had  received 
the  very  forgiveness  for  which  she  had  been  so  eagerly 
seeking,  soon  reached  Miss  Milward.  Oh !  how  she 
wished  that  she  had  been  well  enough  to  attend  the 
services!  Nothing  should  have  withheld  her!  But 
this  was  impossible,  as  she  was  unable  to  rise,  and 
there  seemed  little  prospect  of  her  recovery.  En- 
couraged, however,  by  her  father's  kindness,  she 
asked  that  the  new  minister  might  be  allowed  to  visit 
their  house,  and  Mr.  Milward,  only  too  pleased  to 
find  his  daughter  once  more  interesting  herself  in 
matters  which  had  no  reference  to  the  recent  sad 
event,  gave  his  hearty  consent. 

The  minister  gladly  responded  to  the  call.  If 
ever  a  thirsty  soul  welcomed  the  living  waters  of  the 
Gospel,  it  was  surely  Miss  Milward.  To  know  that 
she  could  be  forgiven,  not  after  death,  but  on  the 
spot,  without  even  waiting  to  attend  a  meeting,  filled 
her  with  new  hope  and  longing.  The  plan  of  salva- 
tion flashed  in  upon  her  soul  in  all  its  glorious  sim- 
plicity. The  same  Holy  Spirit,  Who  had  previously 
convicted  her  so  deeply  in  regard  to  her  sinfulness, 
now  revealed  to  her  the  immediate  and  all-prevailing 
efficacy  of  the  blood  shed,  not  merely  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world,  but  for  her  own  individual  soul. 

For  a  time  it  seemed  too  good  to  be  true.  Her  sins 
were  too  many  and  great,  her  heart  too  hard  and  cold, 


SHADOWLAND.  9 

for  the  guilt  of  a  life  to  be  blotted  out  in  a  moment. 
The  preacher's  recipe,  "  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  was  almost  too  simple 
to  be  trusted.  It  appeared  at  first  incredible.  But 
at  length  she  grasped  the  truth.  It  was  too  precious, 
too  potent,  too  necessary  to  be  doubted  or  denied. 
With  all  her  heart  she  embraced  it,  and  was  able  to 
realise  during  that  first  interview  that  her  sins  were 
forgiven. 

Wonderful  to  relate,  scarcely  had  the  minister  left,   Healed  in 

•  1  11  body. 

when  Miss  Milward  was  able  to  rise,  dress,  and  leave 
her  room,  healed  in  body  as  well  as  in  soul. 

With  Miss  Milward  the  change  was  not  one  of  mere  tms  tvay 
creed  or  sentiment.  It  penetrated  every  fibre  of  her  ^  ^^  ^^ " 
being.  It  shone  through  her  every  capacity.  It 
revolutionised  her  life,  and  marked  indelibly  her 
whole  career.  Amid  the  worldly  amusements  and 
fashionable  follies  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed, 
she  had  often  heard  the  warning  voice  of  God.  While 
playing  cards  or  joining  in  the  giddy  dance,  her  mirth 
had  been  continually  damped  by  thoughts  of  death 
and  a  sense  of  condemnation.  Frequently  as  she 
went  to  the  theatre  of  her  native  town,  when  her 
eyes  fell  upon  the  words  "This  way  to  the  pit,"  con- 
science had  shuddered.  But  now  such  pleasures  were 
forever  abandoned,  and  from,  that  moment  she  never 
cast  upon  them  a  single  backward  glance. 

Even  to  the  details  of  her  dress  was  the  change     a  thor- 

1        r    •  -\  i-  ough 

manifest.  Her  hat  was  stripped  of  its  adornments  change. 
and  made  to  resemble,  as  closely  as  possible,  that  of 
some  pious  Methodist  dame,  whose  godliness  and  self- 
denial  she  had  learned  to  admire .  Her  wayward  locks 
of  hair  were  plastered  into  similar  soberness.  Her 
relentless  scissors  made  havoc  of  ball-dresses,  the 
remnants  of  which  in  after  years  served  to  furnish 


lO  MRS.   BOOTH. 

frocks  for  lier  daughter's  dolls!  With  heart  and  soul 
she  set  to  work  to  please  God  in  everything,  embrac- 
ing the  cross  of  an  out-and-out  Methodist,  and  this 
at  a  time  when  it  meant  very  much  what  it  now 
means  to  become  a  Salvationist.  The  consciousness 
that  she  was  doing  right,  together  with  the  realised 
smile  of  God,  enabled  her  to  face  unflinchingly  the 
contempt  and  opposition  of  those  who  would  have 
held  her  back. 

For  some  time  Mr.  Milward  humoured  what  he 
looked  upon  as  the  fanciful  caprices  of  his  daughter. 
He  even  went  so  far  as  to  accompany  her  to  some  of 
the  meetings,  though  he  had  but  little  sympathy  with 
what  he  considered  to  be  the  eccentricities  and  noisy 
performances  of  the  revivalists.  Occasionally  Miss 
Milward  even  succeeded  in  cajoling  her  aunt  to  en- 
dure the  familiar  vulgarities  and  loud  Amens,  with 
which  the  proceedings  of  Methodism  were  in  its  early 
days  commonly  enlivened. 

From  time  to  time  special  preachers  came  to  con- 
to  Mr.  duct  the  services.  One  of  the  most  popular  of  these 
was  John  Mumford.  Even  the  Gorgonian  aunt  was 
constrained  to  appreciate  him,  and  was  heard  to  de- 
clare in  an  unguarded  moment  that  he  was  certainly 
the  finest  young  man  in  the  town.  For  a  time  all 
went  well.  But  dire  was  the  wrath,  and  boundless 
the  indignation  of  Mr.  Milward,  when  he  learned 
that  John  Mumford  had  dared  to  aspire  to  the  hand 
of  his  daughter.  Not  only  was  the  young  preacher 
ordered  out  of  the  house,  but,  as  the  door  slammed 
behind  him,  Mr.  Milward  with  his  own  hand  turned 
the  key  in  the  lock,  as  though  to  make  his  return 
doubly  impossible. 
Homeless!  He  then  sternly  called  upon  his  daughter  to  choose 
between  her  lover  and  her  home.     Either  the  proposed 


Engaged 


12 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


Marries 
Mr.  Mum- 
ford. 


The  re- 
concilia- 
tion. 


engagement  must  be  forever  abandoned,  or  she  must 
leave  at  once  her  father's  roof,  and  face  the  conse- 
quences, be  they  what  they  might.  The  ordeal  was 
a  trying  one,  but  her  courage  did  not  waver. 

True  to  his  word,  and  urged  on  by  the  aunt,  Mr. 
Milward  at  length  commanded  his  daughter  to  leave 
the  house.  She  went  forth  penniless,  without  so  much 
as  a  change  of  clothing,  sacrificing  every  worldly  pro- 
spect. Few  would  have  had  on  the  one  hand  the  cour- 
age to  stand  firm,  or  on  the  other  hand  the  patience  and 
faith  to  wait  till  the  barriers  should  be  swept  away, 
not  by  her  own,  but  by  a  Higher  Power.  Her  confi- 
dence in  God  was  rewarded,  and  within  a  few  months 
she  was  married  to  John  Mumford  with  her  father's 
full  consent  and  blessing. 

On  his  dying  bed  Mr.  Milward  sent  for  John  to  pray 
with  him.  "Let  us  pra)'  with  you,"  volunteered  a 
relative,  who  was  in  the  room.  "  No,  you  are  not  com- 
petent," replied  the  dying  man.  "Fetch  me  John." 
And  so  the  Methodist  son-in-law  was  brought.  What 
a  contrast  was  there  between  this  visit  and  the  previ- 
ous one,  when  he  had  been  driven  ignominiously  from 
the  house,  with  no  apparent  likelihood  of  ever  being 
able  to  return!  Death,  the  universal  leveller,  had 
opened  the  door,  which  Mr.  Milward  thought  he  had 
forever  closed.  And  so,  with  a  heart  overflowing  with 
gratitude,  the  once  exiled  daughter  watched  her  hus- 
band kneel  beside  her  dying  father's  bed  and  point 
him  to  the  "  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world."  And  how  triumphant  must  have  been 
the  final  reunion,  when,  some  fifty  years  later,  father 
and  dauofhter  met 


"  Beyond  the  river, 
Where  the  surges  cease  to  roll." 


CHAPTER   II. 
CHILDHOOD.      1 829-1 834. 

Catherine  Mumford,  or,  as  she  is  more  familiarly      Mrs. 
known,  Catherine  Booth,  was  born    at  Ashbourne  in  bfrthpiace 
Derbyshire  on  the  17th  January,  1829.     She  was  the 
only  daughter  in  a  family  of  five.     Of  her  brothers 
the  youngest,  John,  alone  survived,  the    three   elder 
having  died  during  infancy. 

"One  of  the  earliest  recollections  of  my  life,  in  fact  Herearii- 

€St  V&COh" 

the  earliest,"  says  Mrs.  Booth,  "is  that  of  being  taken  iccUon. 
into  a  room  by  my  mother,  to  see  the  body  of  a  little 
brother  who  had  just  died.  I  must  have  been  very 
young  at  the  time,  scarcely  more  than  two  years  old. 
But  I  can  remember,  to  this  day,  the  feelings  of  awe 
and  solemnity  with  which  the  sight  of  death  impressed 
my  baby-mind.  Indeed,  the  effect  produced  on  that 
occasion  has  lasted  to  this  very  hour.  I  am  sure  that 
many  parents  enormously  under-estimate  the  capacity 
of  children  to  retain  impressions  made  upon  them  in 
early  days." 

Mrs.  Mumford  was  a  wise  mother.      She  realised     -^n  im- 

,  1  .  1       .  ,  .    , .  -         1  pressmn- 

that  it  was  during  the  tender  years  of  life  that  the  able  age. 
human  clay  would  respond  most  readily  to  the  mould- 
ing hand  of  the  maternal  potter.  The  damp  and 
impressionable  material  could  be  shaped  almost  ab- 
solutely according  to  the  mother's  will,  whereas,  once 
baked  and  hardened  at  the  furnace  fires  of  sin  and 
worldliness,  it  would  defy  the  most  powerful    influ- 

13 


14  MUS.   BOOTH. 

1831,       ences  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  or  shiver 

^^   *      in  pieces  beneath  severities    which  timely   firmness 

would  have  rendered  unnecessary,  and  which  were  of 

no  avail,  because  applied  too  late. 

Nursery        Nor  was  Kate  relegated  to  the  dull  monotony  of  a 

monotony  ■' 

mere  nursery  existence.  Mrs.  Mumford  felt  instinc- 
tively that  the  moral  germ  could  no  more  dispense 
with  light  and  air  than  could  the  bud  of  any  tree  or 
plant.  While  on  the  one  hand  it  must  be  guarded 
from  those  outward  storms  of  temptation  and  worldly 
companionship  which  have,  alas,  wrecked  so  many, 
yet  to  place  it  in  the  dark,  with  little  or  no  chance 
for  heart-expansion  and  mind-development,  would 
"be  to  stunt  its  growth,  and  to  j^roduce  a  sickly  weak- 
ling, incapable  of  dealing  with  the  momentous  re- 
sponsibilities and  opportunities  of  life.  Just  as  the 
same  bud  would  under  one  set  of  influences  expand 
and  fructify,  while  under  another  it  would  droop  and 
die,  so  the  same  character  might  be  made  or  marred 
according  to  the  treatment  it  received. 
Its  fatal  Who  can  estimate  how  many  beautiful  blossoms 
are  blighted,  how  many  noble  natures  spoiled,  by 
being  abandoned  to  a  ceaseless  association  with  un- 
suitable or  careless  inferiors?  In  what  a  multiplicity 
of  cases  are  the  lambs  left  to  the  hireling,  while  the 
one  whom  God  intended  to  play  the  part  of  the 
shepherd  is  busying  herself  with  a  thousand  trivial- 
ities, such  as  will  matter  little  enough  when  she  stands 
with  her  flock  to  give  an  account  of  her  stewardship 
before  the  Throne!  In  later  life  Mrs.  Booth  em- 
phatically declared  her  conviction  that,  however 
devoted  or  clever  a  nurse  might  be,  she  could  not 
take  the  place  of  the  mother,  and  that  nothing  could 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  companionship,  train- 
ing, and  care  of  the  latter.     Speaking  on  this  subject 


conse 
guences 


CHILDHOOD.  1 5 

with  all  the  advantages  of  her  matured  experience,      1831, 
Mrs.  Booth  says :  ^^^  ^' 

"  Confining  children  strictly  to  the    nursery    is,  I    ^  fjreat 

1.1  -1  <^     1    1  •  inistake. 

think,  a  great  mistake.  God  has  set  us  m  families, 
and  intercourse  with  their  elders  over  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life  must  be  improving  to  the  young.  In 
fact,  topics  of  general  conversation,  providing  they 
be  largfe  and  elevating,  constitute  an  education  such     -^  S'off' 

*=>  *^  education 

as   no   books    can    supply.     In    my   own    family,    of 

course,  the  conversation  was  always  such  as  had  to 

do  with  the  salvation  of  the  world.     Nevertheless,  I 

have    been    present    at    many    dinner    tables    where      Tabie- 

ennobling  subjects   were  never  mentioned,  and    the 

veriest  trifles  occupied  tongue  and  thought.     Perhaps 

it  is  best  for  children  to  be  kept  from  such." 

From  an  incredibly  early  age,  Catherine,  or  Kate,   Hermoth- 
as  she  was  usually  called,  became  her  mother's  com-     ji^nion. 
panion  and  confidante.      With  the    exception    of   her 
brother,  who  went  to  America  when  only  sixteen,  she 
had  no  playmates.     Children,  as  a  rule,  were  so  badly    ^•opiay- 
brought  up,  that  Mrs.  Mumford  dreaded   their   con- 
taminating influence  upon  her  daughter.     To  some 
this  may  appear  too  harsh  a  rule,  but  it  was  one  which 
Mrs.  Booth  herself  adopted  in  bringing  up  her  fam- 
ily, and  the  result   has  surely  justified    its  wisdom. 
On  one  of  the  few  occasions  when  she  allowed  two  of 
her  children  to  visit  the  house  of  a  particular  friend, 
they    returned    expressing    their    astonishment    that 
fathers  and  mothers  could  disagree  and  that  brothers 
and  sisters  could  quarrel,  or  be  jealous  of  each  other. 

But  what  Kate  lacked  in  outside  companionship  was  a  careful 
abundantly  compensated  by  the  close  and   intimate     '«""'^s|- 
ties  which  linked  mother  and  daughter  in  bonds  that 
grew  stronger  year  by  year,  and  that  death  itself  could 
but  for  the  moment  sever.     The  sapling,  which  was 


i6 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1833, 
Age  4. 


A  tender 

con- 
science. 


My  moth- 
er''s  char- 
acter. 


The   real- 
ity of 
Heaven. 


one  day  to  outstrip  and  overshadow  the  parent  tree, 
throve  well  those  early  years  under  the  sheltering 
foliage  of  a  mother's  love,  and  abundantly  rewarded 
the  ceaseless  solicitude  and  unwearying  care  of  which 
it  was  the  object.  The  conscience,  which  might  have 
been  blunted  by  undue  and  premature  familiarity  with 
evil,  appealed  to  and  cultivated  became  keenly  sen- 
sitive, responding  like  an  aeolian  harp  to  the  slightest 
whisperings  of  the  Spirit. 

Catherine  was  but  four  years  old,  when  Mrs.  Mum- 
ford  heard  her  crying  bitterly  after  being  tucked  up 
for  the  night  in  her  little  crib.  With  sobs  and  tears 
she  poured  forth  into  her  mother's  sympathetic  ear 
the  confession  of  some  falsehood,  which  had  so  trou- 
bled her  conscience  as  to  render  sleep  impossible. 
Mrs.  Mumford  did  not  attempt  to  excuse  the  fault, 
or  to  reason  the  impression  away,  but  talked  and 
prayed  with  her,  not  leaving  her  until  she  felt  herself 
forgiven.  Then  conscience  satisfied,  the  tired  curly 
head  quickly  nestled  on  its  pillow,  and  little  Kate  was 
soon  asleep. 

"The  longer  I  live,"  Mrs.  Booth  writes,  "the  more 
I  appreciate  my  mother's  character.  She  was  one 
of  the  Puritan  type.  I  have  often  heard  my  husband 
remark  that  she  was  a  woman  of  the  sternest  principle 
he  had  ever  met,  and  yet  the  very  embodiment  of 
tenderness.  To  her  right  was  right,  no  matter  what 
it  might  entail.  She  could  not  endure  works  of 
fiction.  *Is  it  true?'  she  would  ask,  refusing  to  waste 
her  time  or  sympathies  upon  anything  of  an  imag- 
inary character,  however  excellent  the  moral  intended 
to  be  drawn.  She  had  an  intense  realisation  of  spirit- 
ual things.  Heaven  seemed  quite  near,  instead  of 
being,  as  with  so  many,  a  far-off  unreality.  It  was  a 
positive  joy  to  her  that  her  three  eldest  children  were 


CHILDHOOD.  1 7 

there.     I  never  heard  her  thank  the  Lord  for  any-      1833, 
thing  so  fervently  as  for  this,  although  they  were  fine     ^^  '^' 
promising  boys.     '  Ah,  Kate, '  she  used  to  say,  '  I  would 
not  have  them  back  for  anything!  '  " 

The  stirring  example  of  such  a  life,  and  the  per- 
petual influence  of  such  deep  spirituality,  could  not 
but  produce  a  profound  impression  upon  Catherine. 
"I  cannot  remember  the  time,"  she  tells  us,  "when 
I  had  not  intense  yearnings  after  God." 

While,  however,  the  soul  had  the  first  place  in  Mrs.     Mental 

^  aevelop- 

Mumford's  consideration,  this  did  not  prevent  her  »ient. 
commencing  in  good  time  to  develop  her  daughter's 
mental  powers.  It  was  true  she  had  her  own  ideas 
in  regard  to  education.  French  she  abominated,  and  ^^ 
she  would  not  allow  Kate  to  study  a  language  which  ^^'^^(^f^- 
she  argued  would  open  the  door  to  the  infidel  and 
impure  novelistic  literature  with  which  she  knew  it 
to  abound,  and  which  she  regarded  with  peculiar  hor- 
ror. Little  did  she  think  that  her  granddaughter 
was  destined  not  only  to  master  the  language,  but  to 
take  France  upon  her  heart,  and  to  go  forth  to  its 
people  as  its  Marechale  and  spiritual  "Jeanne  d' Arc." 
Strange,  too,  that  the  nation  which  had  burned  the 
ancient  championess  should  have  sent  for  the  service 
of  their  old  antagonist  one  who  laid  claim  to  similar 
divine  inspiration,  though  striving  to  liberate  her 
adopted  people  from  the  thraldom  of  sin  and  Satan, 
instead  of  from  that  of  a  foreign  yoke. 

In  each  case  the  instinct  of  humanity,  so  similar  the 
world  over,  recognises  the  Spirit  of  the  Supreme,  al- 
though, as  in  so  many  remarkable  instances,  the  mani- 
festation is  through  a  woman  rather  than  a  man ! 

Referring  in  later  years  to  her  mother's  ideas  with     a  mis- 
regard  to  French,  Mrs.  Booth  remarks:     "I    cannot 
but  think  that  on  this  point  my  dear  mother  was  mis- 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1833, 
Age  4. 


Thou- 
sands 
ruined. 


Child 
studies. 


Intensely 
nervous. 


Bible  les- 
sons. 


Eight 

times 

through. 


taken,  and  that  she  might  have  allowed  me  the  oppor- 
tunity of  acquiring  the  language,  while  guarding  me 
from  the  evils  she  so  dreaded.  I  have  found  this  to 
be  possible  in  the  case  of  my  own  children,  having 
taken  every  care  that  they  should  read  no  French 
books  concerning  the  purity  and  safety  of  which  1 
was  not  perfectly  satisfied.  At  the  same  time  I  be- 
lieve that  thousands  have  indirectly  been  ruined, 
both  for  this  world  and  the  next,  owing  to  the  use  in 
schools  and  academies  of  the  works  of  Voltaire,  and 
other  brilliant  but  ungodly  French  writers." 

If,  however,  Mrs.  Mumford's  prejudices  obliged 
Kate  to  eschew  French,  she  at  least  made  an  early 
beginning  with  her  English  education.  "  My  mother 
has  told  me,"  she  says,  "that  I  not  only  knew  my  let- 
ters, but  could  read  short  w^ords  very  soon  after  I  was 
three.  I  cannot  myself  remember  a  time  when  I  did 
not  find  pleasure  and  consolation  in  reading,  or  hear- 
ing others  read,  either  the  Bible,  or  some  religious 
book.  I  was  a  very  highly  nervous  and  delicate 
child  from  the  beginning,  and  the  fact  that  I  was  not 
strong  enough  to  occupy  my  energies  and  time  like 
other  children  doubtless  had  something  to  do  with 
this  rather  unusual  precocity. 

Especially  w^as  Mrs.  Mumford  anxious  to  encourage 
her  daughter  in  the  study  of  the  Book  which  she 
looked  upon  as  the  supreme  fountain  of  wisdom.  It 
was  from  the  Bible  that  Kate  received  her  earliest 
lessons.  Many  a  time  would  she  stand  on  a  foot- 
stool at  her  mother's  side,  when  but  a  child  of  five, 
reading  to  her  from  its  pages.  Before  she  w^as 
twelve  years  old  she  had  read  the  sacred  Book  from 
cover  to  cover  eight  times  through,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  that  intimate  knowledge  and  excep- 
tional   familiarity  with    the  divine  revelation   which 


CHILDHOOD.  19 

made  so  profound  an  impression  upon  all  who  knew      1833, 
her.  "-^^  '■ 

Thirty  years  later  the  position  was  reversed,  and      Thirty 

i/en  rs 

the  weeping  mother  sat  in  a  densely  crowded  chapel,  'later. 
listening-  for  the  first  time  to  her  daughter,  as  with 
power  and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  she  expounded 
from  the  pulpit  to  her  eagerly  listening  audience 
those  same  Scriptures  which  she  had  studied  at  her 
mother's  knee,  and  which  had  become  indeed,  when 
breathed  from  her  lips,  "quick  and  powerful,  and 
sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing  even 
to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of 
the  joints  and  marrow,  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart."  "Was  it  for  t/a's  that  I 
nursed  her?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Mumford,  amid  her 
tears,  as  she  grasped  the  hand  of  a  lady  who  had  ac- 
companied her  to  the  meeting. 

To  the  end  of  life,  Catherine  maintained  this  in-    Her  last 

gift. 

tense  love  and  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  and  her 
last  and  most  valued  gift  to  each  member  of  her 
family,  from  the  very  banks  of  the  Jordan,  w^as  that 
of  a  Bible,  into  which,  with  the  greatest  pain  and 
difficulty,  she  traced  her  name,  as  "the  last  token  of 
a  mother's  love." 

And  yet  Kate  was  not  unchildlike.     True,  she  was  Partiality 

-  •      -,   1      .  .  .        for  dolls. 

prevented  by  her  delicate  health  from  engagmg  m 
active  sports.  But  her  humanity  and  naturalness 
manifested  itself  in  a  thousand  ways,  especially  in 
her  extreme  partiality  for  dolls.  Indeed  so  devoted 
was  she  to  her  miniature  family,  and  in  so  practical 
a  manner  did  she  labor  for  them,  that  with  her  it  al- 
most ceased  to  be  play,  and  rather  became  a  pleasing 
education  for  the  heavy  and  responsible  maternal 
duties  which  fell  to  her  lot  in  after  life.  She  must  practical. 
feed  them,  dress  them,  put  them  to  bed,  and    even 


20  MRS.   BOOTH, 

1833,  pray  with  them,  before  her  mother-heart  could  be 
satisfied.  And  in  her  spare  moments  she  might  be 
seen,  with  earnest  face  and  bended  back,  eagerly 
plying  needle  and  thread,  thus  accquiring  a  skill  which 
she  turned  to  such  good  account  in  after  life,  that 
ladies  in  admiring  her  handiwork  would  beg  to  be 
told  the  name  of  her  tailor,  in  order  that  they  might 
go  to  the  same  place  for  their  children's  clothes. 

^cioud  ■'-^  ^^^  during  Kate's  early  childhood,  in  fact  while 

she  was  but  three  or  four  years  old,  that  a  dark  cloud 
overshadowed  the  little  home.  Mr.  Mumford  was  no 
longer  the  earnest  preacher  he  had  once  been.  His 
love  for  God  and  souls  grew  cold.  He  lost  the  old 
fire.  He  had  never  joined  the  regular  ministry  of 
the  Wesleyan  body,  although  for  years  he  had  been 
an  accredited  and  successful  lay  preacher.  He  was 
a  coach  builder  by  profession,  and  as  an  unpaid  honor- 
ary official  he  earned  his  support  from  his  business, 
devoting  his  spare  time  to  fulfilling  such  preaching 
engagements  as  were  marked  out  for  him  by  his  min- 
ister.    Mr.  Mumford  ought,  without  doubt,  to    have 

Owjht  to    been  a  minister.     His  remarkable  eloquence,  repro- 

hace   been  ^  ^ 

aminister  duccd  in  liis  daughter,  his  spiritual  power,  his  popu- 
larity as  a  preacher,  his  natural  predilections,  and  the 
happy  possession  of  a  partner  in  life  thoroughly  like- 
minded  with  himself ,  all  pointed  in  the  one  direction. 
Repeatedly,  as  he  afterward  acknowledged,  the  Spirit 
of  God  strove  with  him  on  the  subject.  But  he  re- 
sisted. The  beacon-light  of  conscience  was  quenched. 
Little  by  little,  almost  insensibly  at  first,  and  after- 
wards with  more  rapid  strides,  he  turned  toward  the 
world,  and  at  length  gave  up  even  the  profession  of 
religion . 

Mrs.  Mumford  was  filled  with  grief,  but  with  her 
wonted  tenacity  of  purpose  she  held  on,  refusing  to 


CHILDHOOD. 


21 


despair.  Long  into  the  nights  she  would  pray  for 
her  husband,  and  indeed  made  it  the  goal  of  her  ex- 
istence to  win  him  back  to  the  blessed  experiences 
of  the  past. 

At  length,  after  a  season  of  sorrow  which  left  its 
life-mark  upon  her,  prayer  was,  in  measure,  an- 
swered, and  Mr.  Mumford  turned  from  the  pursuits 
and  pleasures  of  the  world  to  find  his  satisfaction  in 
higher  things.  True,  he  was  not  what  he  had  been 
when  Sarah  Milward  first  met  him,  the  fiery  enthusi- 
astic preacher  of  salvation,  with  whom  she  had  fallen 
so  spontaneously  in  love.  Nevertheless,  the  change 
was  great  and  was  hailed  with  joy. 

Thirty  years  later,  in  one  of  Mrs.  Booth's  first  pub- 
lic meetings,  she  had  the  exceptional  happiness  of 
leading  her  father  back  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  God's 
favour. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  in  after-years,  to  watch 
the  fine,  venerable,  white-haired  old  man  in  his 
daughter's  meetings,  as  with  the  humility  and  sim- 
plicity of  a  child  he  assisted  her  in  the  management 
of  the  services,  held  up  his  watch  to  remind  her  of 
the  too  often  forgotten  time,  or  prayed  with  a  fervency 
and  unction  that  few  could  surpass. 


1834, 
Ages. 

A  pray- 
in(j  wife. 

Restored. 


Full  con- 
secration. 


Father 

and 

daughter. 


CHAPTER   III. 
EARLY  DAYS.      1 834-1 841. 

S^Bo^m  '^^^  family  removed  in  1834  to  Boston,  in  Lincoln- 
shire, Mr.  Mumford's  native  town.  During  his  stay 
here  he  commenced  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  Tem- 
perance movement,  his  home  becoming  a  centre  round 
which  many  of  the  leading  Temperance  luminaries 
revolved.  Catherine,  with  her  curly  locks  and  flashing 
black  eyes,  together  with  her  brilliant  conversational 
powers,  was  before  long  one  of  the  most  interesting 
features  of  her  father's  table,  taking  her  share  in  the 
parlor  debates,  which  were  to  prove  So  valuable  a 
training  for  her  future  career. 

Her  early  She  could  do  nothing  by  halves.  Eagerly  she  de- 
voured all  the  Total  Abstinence  publications  of  the 
day,  familiarising  herself ,  by  the  time  she  was  twelve, 
with  every  detail  of  the  question.  When  evening 
came  she  would  lock  herself  into  her  bedroom,  and 
by  the  light  of  her  candle  would  pour  out  her  heart 
upon  paper,  writing  letters  to  the  various  magazines 
to  which  her  father  subscribed.  In  doing  this  she 
was  careful  to  conceal  her  identity  beneath  soraenom- 
de-phimc,  giving  her  manuscripts  to  a  friend  to  be 
copied  and  sent  to  the  editor  with  his  card,  lest  they 
should  be  rejected  if  it  were  known  they  had  been 
written  by  so  mere  a  child.  Little  did  she  then  think 
that  the  day  was  coming  when  newspaper  reporters 
would  attend  her  meetings,  the  general  public  hang 
upon  her  lips,  and  her  writings  be  circulated  through- 


writings. 


EARL  Y  DA  YS. 


23 


out  the  world.  Nor  was  Kate  content  with  merely 
speaking  and  writing.  The  wonderful  after-activities 
of  life  were  foreshadowed  in  the  twelve-year-old 
secretary  of  a  Juvenile  Temperance  Society,  who 
arranged  meetings,  raised  subscriptions,  and  with  all 
her  might  pushed  forward  the  interests  of  the  cause. 


1838. 


Temper- 
ance sec- 
retary. 


Catherine  at  the  Side  (.e  the  Drunkard. 


"  If  I  were  asked  for  the  main  characteristics  that  Her  sense 

of  respon- 

have  helped  me  through  life,  I  should  give  a  high     siMUty. 
place    among   them    to    the    sense    of    responsibility 
which  I  have  felt  from  my  earliest  days  in  regard  to 
everybody  who  came  in  any  way  under  my  influence. 
The  fact  that  I  was  not  /ar/d  responsible  was  no  relief 


24  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1838.  at  all.  'Why  trouble?  It  is  not  your  affair ! '  friends 
constantly  say  to  me  even  now.  But  how  can  I  help 
troubling,  I  reply,  when  I  see  people  going  wrong? 
I  must  tell  the  poor  things  how  to  manage!" 

An  early  illustration  of  this  trait    in    Catherine's 
character  was  one  day  manifested. 
Her  sym-       While  running  along  the  road  with  hoop  and  stick, 
ivith  a     she  saw  a  prisoner  being  dragged  to  the  lock-up  by  a 

prisoner.  ...  ,  -  .  ,  ^ 

constable.  A  jeering  mob  was  hootmg  the  unfortu- 
nate culprit.  His  utter  loneliness  appealed  power- 
fully to  her.  It  seemed  that  he  had  not  a  friend  in 
the  world.  Quick  as  lightning  Catherine  sprang  to  his 
side,  and  marched  down  the  street  with  him,  deter- 
mined that  he  should  feel  that  there  was  at  least  one 
Stands  by  heart  that  sympathised  with  him,  whether  it  might 
be  for  his  fault  or  his  misfortune  that  he  was  suffer- 
ing. The  knight-errant  spirit  which  Kate  manifested, 
when,  as  a  mere  child,  she  threw  down  the  gauntlet 
to  the  mocking  crowd,  and  dared  to  take  the  part  of 
the  lonely  hustled  criminal,  was  peculiarly  typical  of 
the  woman  who  afterward  stood  by  the  side  of  her 
husband  and  General,  helping  him  to  face  the  scorn 
of  his  day  and  generation,  until  unitedly,  with  char- 
acter vindicated  and  name  be-blessed,  they  had 
climbed  to  a  position  of  successful  achievement, 
unique  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Her  first  It  was  Catherine's  first  open-air  procession;  indeed, 
^sion^'  may  we  not  legitimately  call  it  the  first  ever  held  by 
the  Salvation  Army?  But  it  was  destined  to  be  multi- 
plied a  million-fold  all  over  the  world,  and  she  was  to 
have  the  joy  of  sweeping  the  slums  of  every  consider- 
able city  in  the  United  Kingdom,  not  alone,  but  at 
the  head  of  devoted  and  well-disciplined  bands  of- 
Salvation  warriors,  till  at  length  the  glorious  past  was 
focussed  in  the  mammoth  funeral  march  which  stirred 


EARLY  DAYS.  25 

Christendom  to  its  centre,  when  the  very  harlots  1839, 
hushed  each  other  in  the  streets,  and  the  rough  un-  ^^  ^°' 
accustomed  cheeks  of  the  poorest  and  most  depraved 
were  wet  with  tears,  as  they  watched  the  speechless, 
yet  eloquently  silent  body  pass  by  of  the  woman  wdio 
from  her  very  childhood  had  held  their  cause  first  at 
heart,  and  who  had  so  unwearyingly  fought  their  bat- 
tles. We  scarce  know  which  touches  our  hearts  the 
more  deeply,  the  cloudless  sunrise  of  the  child-cham- 
pion, or  the  glowing  sunset  of  the  soldier-saint. 

One  form  of  sensitiveness  which  manifested  itself  Her  sym- 
in  Kate's  childhood,  and  which  caused  her  the  keenest  ^animals!" 
pain  to  the  very  end  of  life,  was  her  intense  and  un- 
usual sympathy  with  the  sufferings  of  the  brute  cre- 
ation.    She  could  not  endure  to  see  animals  ill-treated 
without  expostulating  and  doing  her  utmost  to  stop   jj  ^   ^   f 
the  cruelt3\     Many  a  time  she  would  run  out  into  the     cruelty. 
street,  heedless  of  every  personal  risk,  to  plead  with 
or  threaten  the  perpetrator  of  some  cruel  act.     On  one 
occasion,  when  but  a  little  girl,  the  sight  of  the  cruel 
goading  of  some  sheep  so  filled  her  soul  with  indig- 
nation and  anguish,  that  she  rushed  home  and  threw 
herself  on  the  sofa  in  a  speechless  paroxysm  of  grief. 

"My  childish  heart,"  she  tells  us,  "rejoiced  greatly  Their pos- 
in  the  speculations  of  Wesley  and  Butler  with  regard     future. 
to  the  possibility  of  a  future  life  for  animals,  in  which 
God  might  make  up  to  them  for  the   suffering  and 
pain  inflicted  on  them  here. 

"One  incident,  I  recollect,  threw  me  for  weeks  into  Her  re- 
the  greatest  distress.  We  had  a  beautiful  retriever, 
named  Waterford,  which  was  very  much  attached  to 
me.  It  used  to  lie  for  hours  on  the  rug  outside  my 
door,  and  if  it  heard  me  praying  or  weeping,  it  would 
whine  and  scratch  to  be  let  in,  that  it  might  in  some 
way  manifest  its  sympathy  and  comfort  me.     Where- 


26 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1839, 
Age  10, 


ever  I  went  the  dog  would  follow  me  about  as  my 
self-constituted  protector — in  fact  we  were  insepar- 
able companions.  One  day  Waterford  had  accom- 
.  panied  me  on  a  message  to  my  father's  house  of  bus- 
iness. I  closed  the  door,  leaving  the  dog  outside, 
when  I  happened  to  strike  my  foot  against  something, 
and  cried  out  with  the  sudden  pain.  Waterford 
heard  me,  and  without  a  moment's  hesitation  came 
crashing  through  the  large  glass  window  to  my  res- 
cue. My  father  was  so  vexed  at  the  damage  done 
Its  death,  that  he  caused  the  dog  to  be  immediately  shot.  For 
months  I  suffered  intolerably,  especiall)''  in  realising 
that  it  was  in  the  effort  to  alleviate  my  sufferings  the 
beautiful  creature  had  lost  its  life.  Days  passed  be- 
fore I  could  speak  to  my  father,  although  he  after- 
ward greatly  regretted  his  hasty  action,  and  strove 
to  console  me  as  best  he  could.  The  fact  that  I  had 
no  child  companions  doubtless  made  me  miss  my 
speechless  one  the  more." 

Like  her  other  benevolences,  Mrs.  Booth's  kindness 
to  animals  took  a  practical  turn.  "If  I  were  you," 
she  would  say  to  the  donkey-boys  at  the  sea-side 
resorts,  where  in  later  years  she  went  to  lecture,  "  I 
should  like  to  feel,  when  I  went  to  sleep  at  night,  that 
I  had  done  my  very  best  for  my  donkey.  I  would 
like  to  know  that  I  had  been  kind  to  it,  and  had  given 
it  the  best  food  I  could  afford ;  in  fact,  that  it  had  had 
as  jolly  a  day  as  though  I  had  been  the  donkey  and 
the  donkey  mc."  And  she  would  enforce  the  argu- 
ment with  a  threepenny  or  a  sixpenny  bit,  which 
helped  to  make  it  palatable. 

Then  turning  to  her  children  she  would  press  the 
lesson  home  by  saying,  "  77m/  is  how  I  should  like  to 
see  my  children  spend  their  pennies,  in  encouraging 
the  boys  to  be  kind  to  their  donkeys." 


The  clon- 

keii-boi/s 

at  the 

seaside. 


EARL  V  DA  YS. 


27 


If,  in  her  walks  or  drives,  Mrs.  Booth  happened  to 
notice  any  horses  left  out  to  graze  which  looked  over- 
worked and  ill-fed,  she  would  send  round  to  the  deal- 
ers for  a  bushel  of  corn,  stowing  it  away  in  some 
part  of  the  house.  Then,  wdien  evening  fell,  she 
would  sally  forth  with  a  child  or  servant  carrying  a 
vSupply  of  the  food  to  the  field  in  which  the  poor  creat- 
ures had  been  marked,  watching  with  the  utmost 
satisfaction  while  they  had  a  '"real  good  tuck-in." 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  horses  were  soon 
able  to  recognise  her,  and  would  run  along  the  hedge 
whenever  their  benefactors  passed  by,  craning  their 
necks  and  snorting  their  thanks,  to  the  surprise  and 
perplexity  of  those  who  were  not  in  the  secret. 

Again  and  again  has  Mrs.  Booth  rushed  to  the  win- 
dow, flung  up  the  heavy  sash,  and  called  out  to  some 
tradesman  who  was  ill-treating  his  animal,  not  resting 
till  she  had  compelled  him  to  desist. 

"Life  is  such  a  puzzle!"  she  used  to  say,  "but  we 
must  leave  it,  leave  it  with  God.  I  have  suffered  so 
much  over  what  appeared  to  be  the  needless  and  in- 
explicable sorrows  and  pains  of  the  animal  creation, 
as  well  as  over  those  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  if 
I  had  not  come  to  know  God  by  a  personal  revelation 
of  Him  to  my  own  soul,  and  to  trust  Him  because  I 
knew  Him,  I  can  hardly  say  into  what  scepticism  I 
might  not  have  fallen." 

On  one  occasion  when  driving  out  with  a  friend, 
Mrs.  Booth  saw  a  boy  with  a  donkey  a  little  way 
ahead  of  them.  She  noticed  him  pick  up  something 
out  of  the  cart,  and  hit  the  donkey  with  it.  In  the 
distance  it  appeared  like  a  short  stick,  but  to  her  hor- 
ror she  perceived,  as  they  drove  past,  that  it  was  a 
heavy-headed  hammer,  and  that  already  a  dreadful 
wound  had  been   made  in  the  poor  creature's  back. 


1840, 
Age  II. 


A  good 
tuck-in. 


Life  a 
puzzle. 


Rescuing 
a  donkey. 


28 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1840, 
Age  II. 


Slie  seizes 
the  reins. 


Faints 
aivay. 

Oblivious 
to  conse- 
quences. 


She  called  to  the  coachman  to  stop ;  but  before  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  do  so,  or  for  those  in  the  carriage 
with  her  to  guess  what  was  the  matter,  she  had  flung 
herself  at  the  risk  of  her  life  into  the  road.  Her  dress 
caught  in  the  step  as  she  sprang,  and  had  it  not  been 
torn  with  the  force  of  her  leap,  she  must  have  been 
seriously  injured  if  not  killed. 

As  it  was,  she  fell  on  her  face  and  was  covered  with 
the  dust  of  the  hot  and  sandy  road.  Rising  to  her 
feet,  however,  she  rushed  forward  and  seized  the 
reins.  The  boy  tried  to  drive  on,  but  she  clung  per- 
sistently to  the  shaft,  until  her  friends  came  to  her 
assistance.  After  burning  words  of  warning,  fol- 
lowed by  tender  appeals  of  intercession,  such  as  from 
even  th^  hard  heart  of  the  donkey-driver  would  not 
easily  be  effaced,  she  at  last  induced  him  to  hand 
over  his  hammer  and  succeded  in  obtaining  his  name 
and  address.  Then  overcome  with  the  excitement 
and  exertion  she  fainted  away,  and  was  with  difficulty 
carried  home. 

To  some  this  may  appear  to  have  been  an  unwise 
expenditure  of  a  valuable  life  on  behalf  of  so  compar- 
atively worthless  an  object,  but  such  was  the  effect  of 
cruelty  upon  her  whole  being  that  Mrs.  Booth  became 
at  times  like  these  oblivious  to  consequences,  and  was 
often  rendered  for  the  moment  speechless,  being 
quite  unable  even  to  explain  herself  to  those  around 
her.  Indeed,  it  seemed  a  physical  impossibility, 
when  her  soul  was  thus  stirred  with  sympathy,  to 
subdue  her  feelings,  or  calmly  "to  pass  by  on  the 
other  side."  And,  after  all,  is  not  the  world  full  of 
people  who  are  so  bent  on  taking  care  of  themselves 
that  they  cannot  be  persuaded  to  sacrifice  anything 
in  the  cause  of  humanity?  If  Mrs.  Booth,  both  as 
a  child  and  in  after  years,  went  too  far,  are  there  not 


EARL  V  DA  YS.  29 

tens  of  thousands  who  do  not  go  far  enough,  and  1841. 
would  not  the  world  be  the  better  for  infinitely  more 
of  the  same  Christ-like,  reckless  spirit,  which,  in  its 
anxiety  to  save  others,  cannot,  even  in  voicing  the 
groans  of  the  dumb  creation,  save  itself?  Of  her  how 
truly  might  it  have  been  said : 

"Let  others  look  and  linger, 
And  wait  for  beck  and  nod ! 
I  ever  see  the  finger 
Of  an  onward-urging  God!" 

But  perhaps  we  have  lingered  too  long  in  describ-  A'o  hohinj- 
ing  this  interesting  feature  of  Catherine's  child-char- 
acter and  in  tracing  it  onward  through  her  later  life. 
And  yet,  intensely  as  she  felt  on  the  subject,  her  sound 
judgment  prevented  her  from  making  a  hobby  of  it, 
or  from  developing  this  side  of  her  sympathies  to  the 
neglect  of  other  questions  of  still  greater  importance. 
Catherine  early  realised  and  throughout  life  acted 
consistently  upon  the  principle  that,  even  for  the 
sufferings  of  the  animal  creation,  the  sovereign  rem- 
edy was  the  salvation  of  its  oppressors.  She  had  no 
sympathy  with  those  who  hoped  to  accomplish  the 
redemption  of  the  world  independently  of  the  Gospel. 
"Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified"  was  her  perpetual 
and  untiring  theme;  His  salvation  her  one  great 
panacea  for  all  the  evils  that  exist. 

As  a  child  Kate  delighted  in  attending  religious  Her  lovc 
meetings.  "Be  sure  and  wake  me  in  good  time,"  meetings. 
were  her  last  words  on  one  occasion,  when  her  mother 
was  leaving  her  bedroom  after  bidding  her  daughter 
an  affectionate  "good-night."  It  was  the  end  of  the 
year,  and  Mrs.  Mumford  had  promised,  as  a  special 
treat,  that  Kate  should  go  with  her  to  the  watch- 
night  service.     But  an  aunt,  who  held  different  views 


30  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1841  on  the  training  of  children,  happened  to  step  in  dur- 
ing the  evening,  and,  as  Kate  was  soundly  asleep 
when  the  time  arrived  for  going  to  the  meeting,  the 
mother  was  persuaded  into  leaving  her  behind.  "  I 
cried  bitterly,  when  I  awoke  the  next  morning,"  she 
tells  us, "and  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  be  con- 
soled. This  was  the  only  occasion  I  can  ever  re- 
member, when  my  mother  broke  her  promise,  and 
the  unexpected  nature  of  the  disappointment  perhaps 
helped  to  make  me  feel  it  the  more  keenly." 

An  intei-       No  doubt  Katc's  peculiar  disposition  and  training 

chiid-iis-  enabled  her  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  meetings  such  as, 
tener.  ^^  ordinary  children,  would  have  been  dull  and  un- 
interesting. By  the  time  she  was  twelve  it  was  quite 
usual  for  her  to  give  her  mother  an  outline  of  the 
sermon.  The  Wesle3^ans  had  several  earnest  preach- 
ers in  Boston,  and  their  child-hearer  had  often  some 
interesting  accounts  to  bring  home  regarding  their 
sayings  and  doings.     On  one  occasion,  for  instance, 

^mhie^to^  the  speaker  laid  his  Bible  across  the  door-step  of  the 
^^^^-       Chapel,  and  then,  turning  to  address  the  sinners  pres- 
ent, cried  out  in  tones    that   thrilled    the    audience: 
"  Now  which  of  you  have  made  up  your  minds  to  walk 
over  that  book  to  hell?" 
Her  at-        Kate  and  her  mother  were  deeply  attached  to  Meth- 

to  Meth-  odism.  Its  literature  was  their  meat  and  drink;  its 
history  was  their  pride — its  heroes  and  heroines  their 
admiration.  They  had  no  other  idea  than  to  spend 
in  its  ranks  the  whole  of  their  life,  and  to-  devote  to 
the  advancement  of  its  cause  their  every  effort.  Lit- 
tle Catherine  used  to  watch  with  profound  pity  the 
members  of  other  denominations  who  passed  the 
house  on  the  way  to  their  various  places  of  worship. 
She  wished,  from  the  depths  of  her  heart,  that  they 
could  enjoy  the  same  happy  experiences  as  those  of 


odism. 


EARL  Y  DA  YS.  3 1 

Methodists.     No  higher  idea  of  holiness  and  devotion       1841. 
seemed  possible  to  her. 

A  subject  which  deeply  engaged  her  interest  and  -i»ic^.  for- 
attention,  and  for  which  amongst  her  many  self-  missions. 
imposed  duties  she  managed  to  find  time,  was  that 
of  foreign  missions.  Some  of  her  happiest  hours 
were  spent  in  meetings  organised  on  their  behalf. 
The  stories  of  the  needs  and  dangers  of  the  heathen 
world  made  a  powerful  impression  upon  her  deep  and 
impulsive  heart.  All  her  sympathies  were  enlisted 
on  behalf  of  the  coloured  races  of  the  earth.  The 
negroes  especially  appealed  to  her,  seeming  to  be  the 
most  oppressed,  and  the  least  capable  of  defending 
themselves. 

Nor  could  she  rest  satisfied  with  doing  less  than  Collecting 
her  small  utmost  to  speed  forward  the  cause.  Gladly 
she  renounced  her  sugar  and  in  various  ways  stinted 
herself  to  help  the  work,  and  when  she  had  practised 
all  the  self-denial  possible,  she  would  collect  subscrip- 
tions amongst  her  friends,  often  realising,  to  her  un- 
speakable delight,  quite  a  surprising  sum.  It  must 
have  been  difficult  indeed  to  say  "no'"  to  the  ardent  Hard  to 
little  enthusiast,  and  even  those  who  felt  but  scant 
interest  in  the  foreign  field  would  find  it  hard  to  re- 
sist the  appeal  that  in  later  years  bowed  the  hearts  of 
so  many  thousands.  And  the  little  girl-missionary, 
who  saved  and  begged  for  the  heathen,  lived  to  see 
the  institution  of  an  annual  week  of  self-denial 
throughout  the  world,  singularly  enough  closing  her 
ministry  of  sacrifice  and  love  on  the  last  day  of  such 
a  week.  A  missionary,  did  we  say?  A  still  higher 
privilege  was  to  be  hers,  as  joint-founder  with  her 
husband  of  the  largest  missionary  society  in  the 
world. 

The  dreams  of  the    child-politician,  who  so  early 


32 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1841. 


Dreams 
realised. 


fought  the  battles  of  the  people  across  her  family 
table,  were  to  be  more  than  realised,  in  the  rescuing, 
during  her  life-time,  of  tens  of  thousands  from  drink, 
debauchery,  poverty,  and  crime,  and  in  the  scheme 
of  social  salvation  launched  after  her  death  by  the 
one  with  whom  she  had  proved  for  nearly  forty  years 
so  able  a  co-worker.     A  scheme  which  has  startled  the 


The  Wesleyan  Chapel  in  Boston. 

civilized  world — inspiring  with  fresh  enthusiasm  the 
heart  of  every  well-wisher  of  mankind  and  with  new 
hope  the  despairing  outcasts  of  society ;  promising  at 
no  distant  date  the  peaceful  solution  of  a  problem 
that  has  threatened  to  convulse  empires,  and  for 
which  no  settlement  has  hitherto  seemed  possible 
save  in  an  ocean  of  blood. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
SCHOOL  LIFE.     1841-1843. 

Catherine's  school  experiences  were  of  compara-  Hermoth- 
tively  brief  duration.      Her  mother  preferred  that  her    %ke  /or 
education  should  be  pursued  at  home,  dreading  the     ^^  °°^' 
effects  of  unsuitable  companionships.      Still  stronger 
were  the  views  and  more  unqualified  the  antipathy 
with  which  Mrs.  Booth  afterward  regarded  the  entire 
fabric  of  modern  schooldom. 

The  tendency  of  the  age  to  dissolve  the  natural  ties  Shared  by 
of  blood,  and  to  abolish  parental  responsibility,  by  Booth. 
herding  children  together  under  the  care  of  those 
who  are  too  often  totally  unsuited  to  prepare  them 
for  the  responsibilities  of  life,  could  not  be,  she 
argued,  in  accordance  with  God's  plan.  The  mental 
culture,  the  general  information,  or  the  social  veneer 
they  might  thus  obtain  are  dearly  paid  for  by  the 
sacrificial  holocaust  of  innocence,  virtue,  and  spirit- 
uality that  this  educational  Taganath  demands.    "Let  The   edu- 

•'  ^    o  cational 

thy  gifts  be  to  thyself  and  give  thy  rewards  to  an-  Jaganath 
other,"  she  would  say  to  this  latter-day  Moloch,  who 
fattens  year  by  year  on  the  youth,  the  talent,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  nation,  marking  out  for  his  victims 
the  choicest  in  the  land,  fascinating  with  his  glitter- 
ing eye,  and  encircling  within  his  deadly  coils  prince, 
prelate,  and  people  alike,  till  few  are  left  who  have 
not  in  his  honour  passed  through  the  fatal  fires. 

To  Mrs.  Booth  the  great  pasteboard  image  set  up   ^^^^Pf,^^' 
in  the  plains  of  Christendom  by  the  nineteenth  cen-     image. 
3  33 


34 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1841, 
Age  12, 


Educated 
fiends. 


One  lan- 
guage 
enough 
for  the 
devil. 


A  warn- 
ing to 
parents. 


tury  Nebuchadnezzars  of  her  day  had  no  attraction. 
Like  the  three  Hebrew  heroes,  she  stubbornly  re- 
fused to  bow  the  knee  before  it.  "Better,"  she  said, 
"be  cast  into  the  sevenfold-heated  fires  of  poverty 
and  worldly  oblivion,  than  purchase  the  favour  of 
monarchs  at  a  cost  that  should  imperil  the  soul." 

She  never  wearied  in  warning  parents  against  a 
system,  which  had  proved  so  destructive  of  spirituality, 
turning  many  of  the  purest  and  most  hopeful  children 
into  educated  fiends,  whose  power  for  evil  had  been 
only  increased  by  the  intellectual  weapons  with  which 
they  had  been  armed.  "What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  your  education?"  she  would  ask  her  children  in 
piercing  tones.  "  If  you  mean  to  serve  the  devil  with 
it,  you  had  better  let  me  know.  One  language  is 
quite  enough  fo?'  him.''  And  when  tempting  offers 
came  from  rich  friends  to  mjet  the  expenses  of  a 
college  training,  time  after  time  she  put  from  her  the 
dazzling  chance,  and  this  at  a  period  when  the  future 
looked  particularly  dark,  and  there  was  no  Salvation 
Army  to  afford  scope  for  the  development  of  the 
brilliant  gifts  with  which  she  realised  they  were  by 
nature  endowed. 

In  one  of  her  published  addresses*  she  refers  to  this 
question  as  follows:  "I  cannot  close  these  remarks 
without  lifting  up  my  voice  against  the  practice  now 
so  prevalent  amongst  superior  people,  of  sending 
children  to  boarding-schools  before  their  principles 
are  formed,  or  their  characters  developed.  Parents 
are  led  away  by  the  professedly  religious  character 
of  the  schools,  forgetting  that,  even  supposing  the 
master  or  mistress  may  be  all  that  can  be  desired,  a 
school  is  a   little   ivorld,  where    all    the    elements  of 


*  Practical  Religion,  p.  24. 


SCHOOL  LIFE.  35 

unredeemed  human  nature  are  at  work,  and  that  1841, 
with  as  great  variety,  subtlety,  and  power  as  in  the  ^^  ^^' 
larger  world  outside.  You  would  shrink  from  ex- 
posing your  child  to  the  temptation  and  danger  of  as- 
sociation with  unconverted,  worldly  men  and  xvojucn. 
Why,  then,  should  you  expose  them  to  the  influence 
of  children  of  the  same  character,  who  are  not  un- 
frequently  sent  to  these  schools  because  they  have 
become  utterly  vitiated  and  unmanageable  at  home? 
I  have  listened  to  many  a  sad  story  of  the  consequen- 
ces of  these  school  associations,  and  early  made  up    ^''''  own 

1-11  1  experi- 

my  mind  to  keep  my  children  under  luy  ozun  influ-  ence. 
encL\  at  least  until  they  attained  such  maturity  in 
grace  and  principle,  as  would  be  an  effectual  safe- 
guard against  ungodly  companionships.  To  this  end 
I  have  rejected  several  very  inviting  offers  in  the  way 
of  educational  advantage,  and  every  day  I  am  increas- 
ingly thankful  for  having  been  enabled  to  do  so. 
God  has  laid  on  you,  as  parents,  the  responsibility  of 
training  your  children,  and  you  cannot  possibly  dele- 
gate that  responsibility  to  another  without  endanger- 
ing their  highest  interests  for  time  and  for  eternity." 

Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  Mrs.  Booth's  own  sue-  ^t^sT^' 
cessful  experiment  in  this  direction  has  placed  her  in 
a  position  to  speak  with  authority  on  the  subject.  As 
monuments  of  God's  blessing  on  her  disinterested  and 
self-sacrificing  efforts,  her  family  stand  round  her 
and  speak  for  her  "in  the  gates." 

Mrs.  Booth's    personal    school-experience    was   an    Asy/stem 
unusually    fortunate    one.      Her    mother  s    influence     fled  in/ 
combined  with  her  natural  strength  of  character  to  "^^^^  ''^"' 
guard    her  against  the  ill-consequences  from  which 
she  might  otherwise  have  suffered.     But  even  had  it 
been    otherwise,   she  argued    that    the  system    could 
not  be  justified  by  the  existence  of  an  occasional  ex- 


36 


MUS.   BOOTH. 


1841, 
Age  12, 


But  by  its 
general 
effect. 


God- made 
families 

and  man- 
made 
schools. 


Mrs. 
Mumford 
waives  her 
objec- 
tions. 


Cathe- 

rine''s 

character 

at  school. 


ception,  nor  by  the  fact  that  some  few  might  pass 
through  the  ordeal  unscathed. 

It  was  to  be  judged  by  its  general  effect  on  persons 
of  ordinary  moral  calibre,  who  were  incapable  of  re- 
sisting the  evil  influences  by  which  they  found  them- 
selves surrounded,  rather  than  by  its  influence  on 
characters  of  an  unusual  hardihood,  who  overcame 
their  unpropitious  surroundings,  but  were  certainly 
not  bettered  by  them.  It  has  been  said,  in  regard  to 
the  social  problem,  that  God  made  the  country,  man 
made  the  town ;  and  it  might  be  added,  with  equal 
truth,  that  God  made  the  family,  man  made  the 
school.  And  just  as  the  remedy  for  the  one  evil  is  to 
turn  the  current  backward  from  town  to  country,  so 
Mrs.  Booth  was  convinced  that  the  wholesale  juvenile 
immigration  should  be  resolutely  stemmed  and  turned 
from  school  to  family. 

Mrs.  Mumford's  views  were  by  no  means  so  decided 
and  vehement  as  were  afterward  those  of  her  daughter. 
Nevertheless,  her  leanings  were  all  in  the  same  di- 
rection. Hence  it  was  some  time  before  she  could 
bring  herself  to  send  Catherine  to  school.  It  hap- 
pened, however,  that,  amongst  the  members  of  the 
chapel  in  Boston  to  which  Mrs.  Mumford  belonged, 
there  was  a  lady  of  unusual  devotion  and  ability. 
Acquaintance  quickly  ripened  into  friendship,  and  at 
length  Mrs.  Mumford  was  persuaded  to  overcome  her 
usual  scruples,  and  to  send  her  daughter  to  the  school, 
of  which  from  all  directions  she  received  such  favour- 
able reports.  Certainly  the  children  were  of  a  supe- 
rior character.  Not  only  was  discipline  observed, 
but,  what  she  valued  infinitely  more,  many  of  the 
girls  gave  evidence  of  genuine  conversion. 

Catherine  was  twelve  years  old  when  she  began  to 
attend  this  school,  and  she  continued  her  studies  there 


SCHOOL  LIFE.  37 

during  the  next  two  years.  She  soon  established  1842, 
such  a  character  for  truth,  diligence,  and  ability,  that  ^^  ^^* 
she  was  appointed  to  act  as  a  monitor,  and  was 
commonly  appealed  to  for  the  real  version  of  what 
had  happened  during  the  occasional  absences  of  the 
principal  and  her  assistants.  Every  one  knew  that 
nothing  could  induce  her  to  tell  a  falsehood,  be  the 
consequences  what  they  might. 

Her  sensitive  nature  and  intense  aversion  to  caus-  Amrse  to 
ing  pain  made  her  reluctant  to  go  above  others  in  '^'^uon.  * 
class.  She  preferred  rather  to  help  'them  to  surpass 
herself,  when  her  natural  capacity  and  love  of  study 
would  have  easily  enabled  her  to  take  the  lead.  In 
later  years  she  was  consistently  opposed  to  the  general 
idea  of  competition,  believing  that  it  excited  a  selfish 
and  uncharitable  spirit,  and  gave  an  undue  priority  to 
ability  over  righteousness.  Her  bookish  and  retiring 
disposition,  together  with  the  special  favor  manifested 
by  the  principal,  led  to  her  being  teased  at  times  by 
her  schoolmates,  and,  though  she  was  naturally  good- 
tempered,  she  would  occasionally  give  way  to  violent 
bursts  of  anger,  for  which  she  afterward  manifested 
the  deepest  contrition. 

She  had  a  keen  realisation  of  the  value  of  time, 
and  would  spend  her  leisure  hours  in  pacing  up  and 
down  a  shady  lane  near  her  home  poring  over  some 
book. 

History  was  one  of  her  favorite  studies.     She  ex-       Her 
perienced    special    pleasure    in    reading   about   those    \istory.^ 
whose   great   deeds   had    served   to   benefit    others. 
Their  moral  character  and  achievements  on  behalf  of 
suffering   humanity    attracted    her   attention,    rather 
than  their  talents,  wealth,  or  position.     "Were  they     bonoh' 
clever?     What    use    then    had    they    made    of    their 
ability?"  inquired  the    child-philosopher.      "Was    it 


38  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1842,  to  aggrandise  themselves,  or  to  benefit  others?  Were 
^^  ^  they  rich?  How  did  they  spend  their  money?  Was 
it  in  idle  pomp  and  self -gratification,  or  in  extrava- 
gance and  luxury?  If  so,  they  were  too  despicable 
to  be  admired.  Their  wealth  perish  with  them,  or 
go  to  those  who  would  expend  it  on  the  poor!" 
Her  esti-        "Napolcon,"  she  tells  us,  "I  disliked  with  all  my 

mate  of  ,,^. 

Naiioieon.  heart,  because  he  seemed  to  me  the  embodiment  of 
selfish  ambition.  I  could  discover  no  evidence  that 
he  had  attempted  to  confer  any  benefit  upon  his  own 
nation,  much  le«s  on  any  of  the  countries  he  had  con- 
quered with  his  sword.  Possibly  this  may  have  been 
in  some  measure  due  to  the  prejudice  of  the  English 
historians  whose  works  I  studied,  and  who  doubtless 
strove  to  paint  his  character  in  the  darkest  colors. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  my  dislike  to  him  was  not  based  on 
any  national  antipathy,  but  on  what  I  reckoned  to  be 
the  supremely  selfish  motives  that  actuated  his  life. 
Com-  "  I  could  not  but  contrast    him  with   Caesar,  who, 

ivith  though  by  no  means  an  attractive  character,  accord- 
"^^  ■  ing  to  my  notions,  yet  appeared  desirous  of  benefit- 
ting the  people  whom  he  conquered.  His  efforts  for 
their  civilisation,  together  with  the  laws  and  public 
works  he  introduced  on  their  behalf,  seemed  to  me 
to  palliate  the  merciless  slaughter  of  his  wars,  and 
the  lo.ss  of  life  and  property  that  accompanied  his 
operations.  He  appeared  to  me  to  desire  the  good 
of  his  country,  and  not  merely  his  own  aggrandise- 
ment." 
other  Amongst   other    studies    Catherine    had,  as    might 

have  been  expected,  a  special  aptitude  for  composition. 
Geography  she  liked,  longing  to  be  able  to  visit  the 
countries  and  nations  about  which  she  had  read. 
Arithmetic  was  her  bugbear,  but  this  she  afterward 
attributed  to  the  senseless  way  in  which  it  was  taught, 


SCHOOL  LIFE.  39 

since  to  her  logical  and  mathematical  mind  figures      1843, 
had  afterward  a  considerable  attraction.  ^^  ^^' 

In    1843,    Catherine's    school-days    were    brought    a  severe 
abruptly  to  a   close,  by  a  severe  spinal  attack  which      '""^-^^ 
compelled  her  to  spend  most  of  her  time  in  a  recum-      inter- 
bent  position,  but  even  then  her  active  nature  would  ^Zhllihig; 
not  permit  her  to  rest,  and  her  time  was  divided  be- 
tween sewing,  knitting,  and  her  beloved  books. 

No  doubt  there  was  a  divine  purpose  in  this  illness, 
for  it  was  during  the  next  few  years  of  comparative 
retirement  from  the  ordinary  activities  of  life,  that 
she  acquired  the  extensive  knowledge  of  church  his-  ^,j,  ^j^^ 
tory  and  theology  which  proved  so  useful  in  later  ^t^^dies 
years,  and  for  the  prosecution  of  which  her  multitudi- 
nous duties  would  otherwise  have  left  her  no  time. 

Her  powerful  mind  fairly  revelled  in  grappling 
with  the  deepest  theological  problems,  nor  was  she 
satisfied  with  a  mere  superficial  acquaintance  with 
her  subject.  The  accompanying  fac-simile  of  her 
notes  on  "Butler's Analogy,"  written  when  she  was  a 
girl  of  sixteen,  will  suffice  to  show  how  careful  and 
thorough  was  her  study.  Wesley,  Finney,  Fletcher, 
Mosheim,  and  Neander  were  taken  up  in  turn,  and 
in  some  cases  carefully  epitomised.  Finney's  lec- 
tures on  theology  she  specially  appreciated. 

"The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  she  tells  us,  "I  had  read  Pilgrim's 

J^ro(jr€SS 

with  great  interest  long  before,  but  even  at  that  time 
I  could  not  help  entertaining  a  strong  antipathy  to  the 
Calvinistic  tendency  of  some  of  its  teachings." 

"Another  book  which  I  carefully  studied  was  New-    news  rr- 

.  T»  1  AC  •  1-1  •     •  i/arding 

ton  on  Prophecy.      After  notmg  and  vamly  strivmg  to  prophecy. 
reconcile  the  various  interpretations,  each  supported 
by  quotation  of  chapter  and  verse,  I  can  definitely  re- 
member   deciding,  that    since  so  many  learned  and 
able  people  differed  regarding  the  matter,  it  would  be 


40 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1843, 
Age  14. 


Freed 
from 
scholas- 
tic tram- 
mels. 


The 
wilder- 
ness of 
suffering. 


unwise  for  me  to  spend  time  and  effort  in  striving  to 
come  to  any  clearer  conclusion.  -I  believed  that  I 
could  better  please  God  by  devoting  my  attention  to 
preparing  people  for  Christ's  coming,  than  by  fixing 
the  date  when  it  was  to  take  place,  and  to  this  po- 
sition I  have  ever  since  adhered." 

It  was  perhaps  a  happy  design  of  Providence  that 
suddenly  liberated  the  girl  student  from  her  scholas 
tic  cage  and  left  her  master-mind  unfettered  to  folio  .v 
the  bent  of  its  own  instinct,  instead  of  being  forced 
into  the  routine  ruts  which  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  marked  out  for  it  by  others. 

How  inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  God !  Little  did 
the  lonely  sufferer  think,  as  she  lay  upon  her  couch, 
that  this  was  her  Heavenly  Father's  chosen  training 
ground.  His  college,  of  which  He  was  Himself  to  be 
the  sole  Principal  and  Professor,  she  the  sole  student. 
Often  was  she  tempted  to  repine  at  a  lot  so  sad  and 
mysterious  for  one  so  young.  Yet,  to  us  who  look 
back,  it  is  evident  that  this  was  the  best,  perhaps  the 
only  preparation  for  such  a  life.  There  was  no  other 
wilderness  for  the  nineteenth-century  prophetess,  no 
other  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles  for  the  latter-day  apostle, 
where,  apart  from  the  old-fashioned  dicta  of  priest 
and  Pharisee,  the  Holy  Ghost  could  fashion  His  new 
material  suitably  to  the  exigencies  of  the  time.  And 
thus,  that  which  appeared  to  be  a  terrible  affliction 
is  discovered  in  the  end  to  be  a  blessing  in  disguise, 
and  we  are  constrained  to  say: 

"Sickness,  thou  ante-chamber 

Of  heaven — approach  to  God — 
Ladder  by  which  we  clamber 

From  earth — Our  Father's  rod! 
Welcome !     Since  thou  dost  bring  me 

Sweet  messengers  of  love, 
Angelic  songs  to  sing  me 

Fresh  from  my  Home  above. 


CATHERINE     MUMFORD. 


(Friyni  a  Daguei'reotype  taken  shortly  t>efore  tier  marriiuje.) 


SCHOOL  LIFE.  4t 

'As  when  the  winds  are  shaking  1843 

The  dead  leaves  from  some  tree,  Age  14. 

Fresh  buds  and  flowers  are  making 

More  bright  its  greenery ; 
So  thou  my  soul  art  storming, 

To  make  it  holier  still, 
My  wilfulness  transforming, 

Creating  good  from  ill." 


CHAPTER  V. 

YOUTH.      1 844- 1 847. 


An  early 
incident. 


A  worldly 
suitor. 


The  con- 
troversy 


Settled. 


The  Boston  days  closed  in  1844  with  an  incident 
very  characteristic  of  Catherine.  Previous  to  their 
departure  for  London,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mumford  were 
visited  by  some  cousins  from  Derby.  One  of  them,  a 
young  man  of  somewhat  striking  appearance,  and 
with  more  then  ordinary  capacity,  was  deeply  attached 
to  Catherine.  They  had  known  each  other  from 
childhood,  and,  although  she  was  not  the  most  ardent 
of  the  two,  she  could  not  prevent  her  heart  respond- 
ing in  some  measure  to  his  love. 

But  he  was  worldly  and  irreligious,  and  conscience 
warned  her  that,  however  kind  and  genial  he  might 
be,  he  would  make  no  fit  partner  for  her  in  life. 
True,  he  would  go  with  her  to  the  chapel,  but  while 
she  v/as  endeavouring  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
service,  he  would  be  scratching  pictures  on  the  pew 
in  order  to  divert  her  attention. 

For  some  time  there  was  a  considerable  controversy 
in  her  mind.  She  felt  she  ought  to  break  off  all  cor- 
respondence, and  tell  her  cousin  plainly  that  she 
could  never  make  him  the  object  of  her  affections. 
On  the  other  hand,  she  dreaded  to  give  him  pain,  and 
was  open  to  the  temptation  that,  when  continually 
under  her  influence,  he  might  become  in  spiritual 
matters  all  she  could  desire.  Ultimately,  however, 
she  took  her  stand  upon  the  verse,  "  Be  ye  not  un- 
equally yoked  together  with  unbelievers."     And  al- 

42 


YOUTH. 


43 


though,  as  she  afterward  said,  "  it  cost  me  a  consider- 
able effort  at  the  time,  I  have  far  from  regretted  the 
step  I  then  decided  upon,  and  have  lived  to  see  that 
the  whole  course  of  my  life  might  have  been  altered, 
had  I  chosen  to  follow  the  inclinations  and  fancies  of 
my  own  heart  rather  than  the  express  command  of 
God,  which  so  unmistakably  reveals  His  will  to  us  in 
this  matter." 

And  further  she  adds:  "So  much  is  lost  at  such 
crises  through  vacillation,  through  not  acting  up  to  the 
light  as  God  gives  it.  A  girl  cannot  easily  talk  about 
these  things.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one  suitable  to 
whom  she  can  turn  for  advice,  and  so  a  false  position 
is  drifted  into,  which  too  often  culminates  in  an  un- 
happy marriage  and  a  useless  career." 

In  1844  the  Mumfords  removed  to  London,  settling 
down  finally  in  Brixton.  This  was  Catherine's  first 
visit  to  the  great  metropolis,  and  she  was  considerably 
disappointed  at  its  appearance.  Girl-like,  she  had 
been  castle-building  in  her  imagination,  picturing  to 
herself  the  sort  of  model  city  that  this  brick  and  mor- 
tar colossus  of  the  universe  must  be,  with  palatial 
residences  and  mammoth  edifices.  To  find  it  a  pro- 
miscuous mass  of  humanity  sandwiched,  so  to  speak, 
between  soot  and  mud,  with  countless  acres  of  very 
ordinary-looking  dwellings,  and  interminable  miles 
of  streets,  very  much  resembling  those  to  which  she 
had  been  accustomed  in  Boston,  was  an  unexpected 
termination  to  her  dreams.  She  was,  however, 
deeply  impressed  with  some  of  its  principal  sights, 
such  as  vSt.  Paul's,  Westminster  Abbey,  and  the  Nat- 
ional Gallery. 

'  But  it  was  the  seething  cauldron  of  humanity 
which  more  and  more  engrossed  her  attention  as  time 
went  on,  leaving  her  but  little  leisure  or  inclination 


1844, 
Age  15. 


Her  auh- 
sequent 
vieivs. 


Removal 

to 
London. 


Her  dis- 
appoint- 
ment. 


Forty-six 
years  in  a 
nutshell. 


44 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1844, 
Age  15. 


A  car- 
riage ac- 
cident. 


Presence 

of 

mind. 


to  consider  any  other  subject  than  how  to  benefit  their 
condition  and  combat  their  miseries.  With  a  few- 
inconsiderable  intervals  London  became,  during  the 
next  forty-six  years,  the  principal  scene  of  her  activ- 
ities. By  dint  of  dauntless  faith  in  God  and  weight 
of  worth,  unaided  by  wealth  or  influence,  the  girl- 
listener  of  Exeter  Hall  fought  her  way  up  to  be  one 
of  London's  most  popular  and  effective  platform 
speakers,  crowding  the  largest  buildings  with  her 
audiences,  and  worthily  closing  her  grand  public 
career  with  a  meeting  in  its  far-famed  City  Temple, 
such  as  none  who  were  present  could  ever  forget. 

Yet  at  the  very  commencement  of  this  period,  an 
incident  occurred,  which  reminds  us  on  how  slender 
a  thread  the  most  valuable  of  lives  may  hang.  Mr. 
Mumford  had  driven  his  wife  and  children  to  visit  a 
friend  living  at  a  village  some  six  miles  distant.  On 
the  way  back  the  horse  took  fright  and  bolted.  Mr. 
Mumford  held  on  to  the  reins  w^th  all  his  might,  but 
was  unable  to  pull  up.  Catherine,  who  was  in  the 
back  seat,  managed  to  scramble  out,  running  back  to 
the  village  as  fast  as  she  could  to  obtain  help.  Look- 
ing over  her  shoulder,  the  last  glimpse  she  caught  of 
the  scene  was  the  horse  rearing  in  mid-air  with  her 
father  hanging  on  to  its  head.  After  running  a  mile, 
she  became  so  exhausted  that  she  fell  fainting  on  the 
sward  by  the  roadside,  but  soon  recovered  herself 
sufficiently  to  struggle  on  to  the  house  of  their  recent 
host.  Without  a  moment's  delay  the  pony  was  put 
into  their  chaise,  and  Catherine  was  enabled  to  return 
to  the  scene  of  the  accident.  Great  was  her  relief  to 
find  her  father,  mother,  and  brother  unhurt.  They 
had  run  into  a  ditch,  but  had  miraculously  escaped 
from  injury,  and  were  able  to  return  home  in  safety, 
praising  God  for  their  deliverance. 


YOUTH. 


45 


To  those  who  have  read  thus  far  in  Mrs,  Booth's 
life  it  will  probably  cause  no  small  surprise  to  learn 
that  it  was  not  until  she  was  sixteen  that  she  believed 
herself  to  have  been  truly  converted.  "  About  this 
time,"  she  tells  us,  "I  passed  through  a  great  contro- 
versy of  soul.  Although  I  was  conscious  of  having 
given  myself  up  fully  to  God  from  my  earliest  years, 
and  although  I  was  anxious  to  serve  Him  and  often 
realised  deep  enjoyment  in  prayer,  nevertheless  I  had 
not  the  positive  assurance  that  my  sins  were  forgiven, 
and  that  I  had  experienced  the  actual  change  of  heart 
about  which  I  had  read  and  heard  so  much.  I  was 
determined  to  leave  the  question  no  longer  in  doubt, 
but  to  get  it  definitely  settled,  cost  what  it  might. 
For  six  weeks  I  prayed  arid  struggled  on,  but  ob- 
tained no  satisfaction.  True,  my  past  life  had  been 
outwardly  blameless.  Both  in  public  and  private  I 
had  made  use  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  up  to  the 
very  limit  of  my  strength,  and  often  beyond  the 
bounds  of  discretion,  my  zeal  had  carried  me.  Still, 
so  far  as  this  was  concerned,  I  realised  the  truth  of 
the  words: 

'  Could  my  zeal  no  respite  know. 
Could  my  tears  forever  flow — 
These  for  sin  could  not  atone. ' 

I  knew,  moreover,  that  '  the  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things  and  desperately  wicked.'  I  was  terribly 
afraid  of  being  self-deceived.  I  remembered,  too, 
the  occasional  outbursts  of  temper  when  I  was  at 
school.  Neither  could  I  call  to  mind  any  particular 
place  or  time  when  I  had  definitely  stepped  out  upon 
the  promises,  and  had  claimed  the  immediate  forgive- 
ness of  my  sins,  receiving  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  I  had  become  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of 
heaven. 


1845, 

Age  16. 


Her  con- 
version. 


Six  weeks 
•under 
convic- 
tion. 


4^  J//?^.   BOOTH. 

184s,  "  It  seemed  to  me  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  I 

could  be  saved,  and  yet  not  know  it.  At  any  rate,  I 
could  not  permit  myself  to  remain  longer  in  doubt  re- 
.sKj-ance  garding  the  matter.  If  in  the  past  I  had  acted  up  to 
"  tion!^  the  light  I  had  received,  it  was  evident  that  I  was 
now  getting  new  light,  and  unless  I  obeyed  it,  I 
realised  that  my  soul  would  fall  into  condemnation. 
Ah,  how  many  hundreds  have  I  since  met,  who  have 
spent  vears  in  doubt  and  perplexity,  because,  after 
consecrating  themselves  fully  to  God,  they  dared  not 
venture  out  upon  the  promises  and  believe! 
A(jony  of  "  I  Can  never  forget  the  agony  I  passed  through. 
I  used  to  pace  my  room  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  when,  utterly  exhausted,  I  lay  down  at 
length  to  sleep,  I  would  place  my  Bible  and  hymn- 
uook  under  my  pillow,  praying  that  I  might  wake  up 
with  the  assurance  of  salvation.  One  morning  as  I 
opened  my  hymn-book,  my  eyes  fell  upon  the  words  : 

'My  God,  I  am  Thine! 
What  a  comfort  Divine, — 
What  a  blessing  to  know  that  my  Jesus  is  mine!' 

Scores  of  times  I  had  read  and  sung  these  words,  but 

now  they  came  home  to  my  inmost  soul  with  a  force 

and  illumination  they  had  never  before  possessed.     It 

impossi-    was  as  impossible  for  me  to  doubt,  as  it  had  before 

doubt,      been  for  me  to  exercise  faith.      Previously  not  all  the 

promises  in  the   Bible  could    induce  me  to    believe, 

now  not  all  the  devils  in  hell  could  persuade  me  to 

doubt.     I  no  longer  hoped  that  I  was  saved,  I  was 

gj^^        certain  of  it.     The  assurances  of  my  salvation  seemed 

testifies,     to  flood  and  fill  my  soul.      I  jumped  out  of  bed,  and, 

without  waiting  to  dress,  ran  into  my  mother's  room 

and  told  her  what  had  happened. 

"  Till  then   I  had  been  very  backward  in  speaking 


YOUTH. 


47 


even  to  her  upon  spiritual  matters.  I  could  pray  be- 
fore her,  and  yet  could  not  open  my  heart  to  her  about 
my  salvation.  It  is  a  terrible  disadvantage  to  people 
that  they  are  ashamed  to  speak  freely  to  one  another 
upon  so  vital  a  subject.  Owing-  to  this,  thousands  are 
kept  in  bondage  for  years,  when  they  might  easily 
step  into  immediate  liberty  and  joy.  I  have  myself 
met  hundreds  of  persons  who  have  confessed  to  me 
that  they  had  been  church  members  for  many  years 
without  knowing  what  a  change  of  heart  really  was, 
and  without  having  been  able  to  escape  from  this 
miserable  condition  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  to  one 
of  assurance  and  consequent  satisfaction. 

"  For  the  next  six  months  I  was  so  happy  that  I 
felt  as  if  I  was  walking  on  air.  I  used  to  tremble, 
and  even  long  to  die,  lest  I  should  backslide,  or  lose 
the  consciousness  of  God's  smile  and  favour." 

Catherine  now  joined  the  Wesleyan  Church  in 
Brixton,  of  which  her  mother  had  for  some  time  been 
a  member.  So  strict  was  her  conscientiousness,  and 
so  determined  had  she  been  not  to  play  the  part  of  a 
hypocrite,  that  she  would  not  give  in  her  name  pre- 
viously to  this,  although  she  had  been  one  of  the 
most  regular  attendants  and  earnest  listeners. 

The  society  had  in  London  at  this  time  some  able  and 
eloquent  preachers,  such  as  Luke  Tyerman,  the  well- 
known  author  of  the  "  Life  of  John  Wesley. "  And  yet 
while  the  sermons  were  often  of  a  stirring  and  pointed 
character,  bringing  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  to  bear 
mightily  upon  the  consciences  of  the  people,  they 
were  unaccompanied  by  the  signs  and  wonders  that 
had  marked  the  early  days  of  Methodism.  Moreover 
the  members  were  in  a  much  more  cold,  worldly,  and 
backslidden  condition  than  those  at  Boston. 

Both  Catherine  and  her  mother  were  greatly  dis- 


1845, 

Age  16. 


Tltnii- 
sduds  iti 
bundugc, 


cuyeri- 
ence. 


Joins  (he 

Wesleij- 

ans. 


A  cold 
society. 


Disop- 
pointed. 


48  MRS.   BOOTH. 

184s,      appointed  at  this.     They  were  jealous  for  the  honour 
^^  ^  ■    of  their  church,  and  longed  for  a  return  of  its  higher 
spiritual  life,  of  its  separation    from   the  world  and 
effort  on  behalf  of  souls.     It  was  a  constant  source  of 
grief  to  them  that  so  few  were  being  saved.     And  yet 
this  was  hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  since  there  was 
comparatively  little  attention  or  effort  bestowed  upon 
the  prayer-meeting  which  followed  the  sermon. 
A  spirit-        "  At  this  very  time,"  she  afterward  tells  us,  "  I  can 
^er  meet-'  remember  often  leaving  the  chapel  burdened  at  heart 
^^^'       that  more  had  not  been  accomplished  of  a  practical 
character.     I  could  often  see  that  a  powerful  impres- 
sion had  been  made  upon  the  people,  that  their  con- 
sciences had  been  awakened  and  their  judgment  en- 
lightened.    Many  of  them  were  evidently  on  the  verge 
of  decision.     And  then  at  the  critical  moment,  when 
it  seemed  to  me  every  power  should  have  been  sum- 
Tnoned  to  help  them,  to  act  upon  the  light,  and  then 
to  give  their  hearts  to  God,  the  prayer-meeting  was 
either    dispensed    with    altogether,    or   conducted  in 
such  a  pointless  and  half-hearted  style  that  as  a  rule 
the  opportunity  was   lost,   and    the    people   streamed 
out,  leaving  little  or  no  visible  results  to  chronicle. 
Her  views       "  J  did  SO  long  on  such  occasions  for  some  means  of 

on    faith-  ^  .  ^  ^ 

fui  deal-  getting  at  the  congregation  m  a  direct  and  personal 
manner.  I  felt  certain  that  the  reason  for  much  of 
this  lack  of  straight  dealing  on  the  part  of  ministers 
sprang  from  a  fear  lest  they  should  lose  their  repu- 
tation and  the  friendship  of  their  hearers.  And  yet  I 
could  see  that  this  was  very  short-sighted,  even  for 
this  world,  to  say  nothing  of  the  world  to  come.  For 
I  was  very  sure  then,  and  my  subsequent  experience 
has  fully  borne  it  out,  that  by  dealing  faithfully  Avith 
souls,  while  they  might  have  alienated  some,  they 
would    have  won  a  far  larger    number  of  converts, 


mg. 


YOUTH. 


49 


whose  love,  sympathy,  and  devotion  would  have  much  1846, 

more  than  compensated  for  those  they  might  have  ^^  ^'' 
lost." 

So  deep  and  permanent  was  the  impression  produced  Rer  own 

uvctcticc 

upon  Catherine  in  regard  to  this  matter  that  in  later  m  later 
years,  when  she  herself  occupied  the  pulpit,  she  lost  y^"-^^- 
no  opportunity  for  compelling  her  hearerS  to  an  im- 
mediate decision,  and  after  delivering  an  address  that 
would  occupy  from  one  to  two  hours,  and  this  with  a 
passionate  energy  which  would  bathe  her  in  perspir- 
ation from  head  to  foot,  she  would  step  from  the  plat- 
form, conduct  her  own  prayer-meeting,  and  person- 
ally deal  with  the  long  row  of  kneeling  penitents, 
attending  to  each  one's  individual  circumstances, 
character,  and  need.  No  matter  how  select  or  critical 
the  audience  might  be,  in  faithful  dealing,  courage, 
and  directness  she  was  the  same.  Indeed,  she  seemed 
scarcely  able  to  restrain  herself  at  times,  while  the 
preliminaries  were  being  gone  through,  perhaps  by 
too  prolix  a  chairman,  so  impatient  would  she  be  for 
the  opportunity  of  pouring  out  upon  her  listeners  the 
lava-like  truths  which  seemed  pent  up  in  her  volcano 
soul. 

But  the  time  for  her  public  ministry  had  not  come, 
and  Catherine  had  yet  much  to  learn  by  personal  ex- 
perience. She  now  joined  a  Bible  class  which  was 
conducted  by  the  wife  of  a  supernumerary  minister  of 
the  circuit.  This  class  she  continued  to  attend  for 
the  next  five  years.  "  Mrs.  Keay  used  to  insist  upon 
my  praying,"  she  tells  us,  "and  would  often  keep  the 
class  five  minutes  upon  their  knees  waiting  for  me 
to  begin.  When  I  told  her  one  day  that  the  excite- 
ment and  exertion  had  made  me  ill,  she  replied, 
'Never  mind!  you  will  be  of  use  by  and  by,  if  you 
overcome  this  timidity,  and  employ  your  gifts.  But 
4 


Joins  a 
class- 
meeting. 


50 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1846, 
Age  17. 


Wesley'' s 
intention. 


The  insti- 
tution 
degener- 
ated. 


Mechan- 
ical testi- 
monies. 


if  you  don't,  you  won't.'  And  yet  I  do  not  suppose 
that  she  had  for  me  in  her  mind  a  more  extended 
sphere  of  usefulness  than  that  of  praying  and  testify- 
ing in  class  meetings,  or  at  the  most  of  leading  one. 
Certainly  I  had  no  higher  ambition  for  myself." 

The  class  meeting  was  designed  by  Wesley  to  sup- 
ply to  the  members  of  each  society  individual  over- 
sight, together  with  an  opportunity  for  mutual  con- 
fession and  communion.  Indeed,  we  might  almost 
describe  it  as  the  Protestant  equivalent  for  the  Roman 
Catholic  confessional.  The  class  consisted  of  some 
twenty  or  thirty  persons,  who  met  weekly  under 
the  direction  of  a  lay  leader. 

Mrs.  Booth  seems  to  have  fully  appreciated  this 
institution,  although  she  expresses  disappointment  in 
regard  to  the  particular  class  of  which  she  was  a  mem- 
ber. "I  can  see,"  she  remarks,  "that  if  our  leader 
had  been  faithful  to  her  duty  and  opportunities,  most 
of  her  class  would  either  have  been  converted,  or 
would  have  left.  As  it  was,  the  teaching  they  re- 
ceived was  quite  compatible  with  lives  of  mere  self- 
indulgence.  Their  testimonies  were  mostly  of  a  me- 
chanical stamp,  one  after  another  getting  up  and 
saying  that  they  had  met  with  great  difficulties  and 
trials,  but  that  they  praised  God  for  having  brought 
them  through  another  week,  without  saying  /low  they 
had  come  through,  whether  triumphantly  or  other- 
wise. The  exhortations  of  the  leader  were  usually  to 
the  effect  that  they  were  to  look  away  from  them- 
selves to  Christ,  He  being  so  presented  in  many  in- 
stances as  to  become  a  minister  of  sin,  and  the  chief 
design  appearing  to  be  to  make  them  comfortable  in 
their  souls,  although  they  might  be  living  just  like 
their  neighbours." 

"There  can  be  no  doubt,"  Mrs.  Booth  adds,  "that 


YOUTH.  5 1 

the  class  meeting,  as  originally  intended  by  Wesley,       1846, 
was  an  excellent  arrangement,  but  the  mere  asking       ^^  ^^' 
of  empty  questions  as  to  how  a  person  is  getting  on,     How  to 
and    the  leaving  them    to    answer   by  the  platitudes  ^'^^ciass-  ^ 
usual  on  such  occasions,  is  to  daub  them  with  untem-    ""^^^"'S'- 
pered  mortar,  and  to  lead  them  forth  in  the  way  of 
hollow  profession  and  uncertainty.     Pointed  questions      some 
should  be  put,  such  as:    Have  you  enjoyed  private  questions. 
prayer  during  the  week?     How  far  have    you   been 
enabled  to  obey  the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ  in  dealing 
with  your  family  or  your  business?     Have  you  main- 
tained a  conscience  void  of    offence  toward  men  as 
well    as    toward    God   in    these  matters?     Have  you 
faithfully  made  use  of  your  opportunities  for  doing 
good?     How  many  have    you  spoken  to  about  their 
souls?     Have  you  succeeded  in  leading  anybody  to 
decision    for    salvation    or   consecration?     Have  you 
practised  any  self-denial  in  order  to  extend  the  King- 
dom of  Christ? 

"Such  questions  pressed  home  with  the  aid  of  the   The  lead- 
Holy  Spirit  would  compel  confession,  and  involve  a    ^ome^uj) 
repentance  and  reconsecration  productive  of  real  re-  standard. 
suits.     But    of   course    questions    of   this    kind    pre- 
suppose that  those  who  ask  them  are  themselves  liv- 
ing up  to  the  standard  which  they  set  before  others, 
and  this,  alas,  is  too  often  not  the  case!" 

The  leader  of  Catherine's  class  was  an  exception-       -^»"s- 

■"■  Booth^s 

ally  pious  and  devoted  person.  She  had  the  oversight  leader. 
of  three  classes,  was  an  active  visitor,  and  took  a 
prominent  part  in  all  the  work  connected  with  the 
chapel.  Yet  while  she  herself  dressed  with  studied 
plainness,  her  daughter  was  allowed  to  follow  the 
fashions  of  the  world,  and  to  become  engaged  with 
her  mother's  approval  to  a  young  man  who,  though 
belonging  to  a  Methodist  family,  did  not  even  profess 


52  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1846,  conversion.  Catherine  could  not  help  feeling  that 
Age  17.  ^j^ggg  inconsistencies  paralysed  the  power  and  contra- 
dicted the  teachings  of  her  leader,  and  that,  with  such 
an  example  before  their  eyes,  little  permanent  good 
could  be  accomplished  among  the  members  of  the 
class.  For  the  "  don't-do-as-I-do,  but  do-as-I-tell-you" 
kind  of  religion,  she  entertained  throughout  life  a 
positive  horror,  and  to  find  in  her  beloved  Methodism 
such  symptoms  of  decay  caused  her  the  deepest  sor- 
row and  concern.  Nevertheless,  sad  though  she 
might  feel,  the  thought  of  separation  from  its  ranks 
did  not  so  much  as  suggest  itself  to  her  mind. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
HER    DIARY.      1 847-1 848. 

Like  too  many  of  those,  the  record  of  whose  inner  Brief  and 
life  would  be  both  precious  and  instructive,  Mrs.  irrepiiiar 
Booth  did  not  keep  a  diary.  She  used  afterward  to 
say,  that  she  had  been  too  busy  inakiiigh.\sioYy  to  find 
time  in  which  to  record  it.  This  fact  lends  added 
interest  to  the  only  fragment  of  a  journal  which 
exists. 

The  entries  are  brief  and  irregular,  dating  from 
12th  May,  1847,  to  24th  March,  1848.  Intended  as 
she  tells  us  for  her  own  eye  alone,  these  early  mus- 
ings and  heart-yearnings  offer  a  valuable  index  to 
her  life  and  character. 

The  diary  begins  with  her  arrival  in  Brighton  for  a  visit 
a  few  weeks'  change  and  rest.  In  the  previous  au-  ^^^^Mon. 
tumn  serious  symptoms  of  incipient  consumption  had 
set  in,  and  for  six  months  she  was  almost  entirely 
confined  to  her  room  with  violent  pains  in  the  chest  and 
back,  accompanied  with  strong  fever  at  night.  With 
the  departing  winter,  however,  her  worst  symptoms 
subsided,  and  she  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  travel, 
though  still  very  weak.  "  Mr.  Stevens,  my  new  doc- 
tor," she  writes,  "came  to  see  me  on  Tuesday  last. 
He  is  a  very  nice  man,  and  a  preacher  in  our  society. 
He  sounded  my  chest,  and  thinks  my  left  lung  is 
affected,  but  says  there  is  no  cavity  in  it,  and  hopes 
to  do  me  good.     I   hope,  if  it  is  for  my  God  and  His 

53 


54  MJiS.  BOOTH. 

1847,      glory,  the   Lord  will  give   His  blessing  to  the  means 
Age  18. 

we  are  using. 

Ill  but  The  seriousness  and  severity  of  her  illness  may, 
peaceful.  ^Qwever,  be  judged  from  another  entry  in  which, 
under  date  13th  June,  1847,  she  writes:  "I  went  to 
chapel  in  the  morning,  but  felt  very  poorly  with 
faintness  and  palpitation,  so  that  I  spent  the  after- 
noon in  bed  in  reading  and  contemplation.  At  even- 
ing I  went  again  and  stopped  to  receive  the  sac- 
rament, but  was  so  ill  I  could  scarcely  walk  up  to  the 
communion  rail,  and  was  forced  to  hold  it  to  keep 
myself  from  sinking.  Mr.  Heady,  the  minister,  saw 
I  was  ill,  and  held  the  cup  for  me.  I  afterward  came 
home,  supported  between  Mr.  Wells  and  another 
gentleman.  The  pain  was  so  violent  I  had  to  keep 
stopping  in  the  street.  The  cold  sweat  stood  on  my 
forehead.  But  amidst  all  the  pain  and  confusion 
there  was  calm,  peace,  and  joy." 

Tortured  on  another  occasion  with  toothache,  she 
called  in  at  a  dentist's,  "but  he  feared  I  was  too  weak 
to  undergo  the  operation.  He  said  my  pulse  was  as 
slow  as  an  infant's,  and  the  shock  might  be  too  much 
for  me." 
Yearn-  ^^^  diary  is  full  of  intense  yearnings  after  God  and 
ings  after  struggles  to  attain  perfect  holiness  of  life. 

"14th  May,  1847. — This  morning,  while  reading 
Rowe's  Devout  Exercises  of  the  Heart,  I  was  much 
blessed,  and  enabled  to  give  myself  afresh  into  the 
hands  of  God,  to  do,  or  to  suffer,  all  His  will.  Oh, 
that  I  may  be  made  useful  in  this  family!  Lord,  they 
know  Thee  not,  neither  do  they  seek  Thee!  Have 
mercy  upon  them,  and  help  me  to  set  an  example,  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places,  worthy  of  imitation.  Help 
me  to  adorn  the  Gospel  of  God,  my  Saviour,  in  all 
things. 


HER  DIARY.  55 


"  I  find  much  need  of  watchfulness  and  prayer,  and      1847, 
1  •      -■        .   1  ...         Age  18. 

have  this  day  taken  up  my  cross  m  reprovmg  sm. 

Lord,  follow  with  the  conviction  of  Thy  spirit  all  I    Eebuking 

have  said." 


stn. 


"I  entered  into  fresh  covenant  this  morning  with  Afresh 
my  Lord  to  be  more  fully  given  up  to  Him.  Oh,  to 
be  a  Christian  indeed!  To  love  Thee  with  all  my 
heart  is  my  desire.  I  do  love  Thee,  but  I  want  to 
love  Thee  more.  If  Thou  smile  upon  me,  I  am  in- 
finitely happy,  though  deprived  of  earthly  happiness 
more  than  usual.  If  Thou  frown,  it  matters  not 
what  I  have  beside. 

'Thou  art  the  spring  of  all  my  joys, 

The  life  of  my  delights, 
The  glory  of  my  brightest  days 

And  comfort  of  my  nights. ' 

On  reaching  Brighton,  Catherine  received  from  her       Her 
mother  the  following  letter,  which  throws  an  inter-    ^\tter. 
esting  light  on  the  close  spiritual  communion    that 
existed  between  mother  and  daughter.     After  refer- 
ring to  her  own  and  Catherine's  health,  Mrs.  Mum- 
ford  says : 

"  Oh,  may  the  Lord  help  me  to  hang  on  His  faithfulness 
alone,  and  when  all  seems  gloomy  without,  'still  to  endure  as 
seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.'  The  enemy  tempts  me  to 
doubt,  because  I  do  noifeel  as  I  did  before.  But  I  say  to  my- 
self:   '  Thou  kno  west 

'Other  refuge  have  I  none, 
Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee!' 

May  He  help  me  to  believe  for  a  clearer  manifestation  of 
His  love  and  favour! 

'I  would  not  my  soul  deceive, 
Without  the  inward  witness  live  ! ' 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  getting  on  so  well.     Live  close  to  Jesus 


56 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1847, 
Age  18. 


Mrs. 
Booth's 
earliest 
extant  let- 
ter. 


Influenc- 
ing 
other's. 


and  He  will  keep  you  to  the  end.  Oh,  may  He  bless  you  with 
all  His  fulness !  You  say  I  must  pray  for  you  I  Do  you  think 
I  could  approach  the  Throne  of  Grace  without  doing  so?  Oh, 
no !  You  are  ever  in  my  mind  as  an  offering  to  the  Lord. 
May  He  sanctify  you  wholly  to  Himself  is  the  prayer  of 
"  Your  ever-loving  mother, 

"  Sarah  Mumford." 

To  this  letter  Catherine  sent  the  following  reply, 
which  is  the  earliest  extant  autograph  letter  that 
exists : 

"  My  Dearest  Mother  : — I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  your 
kind,  nice,  long  letter,  and  especially  as  I  know  what  an  effort 
it  is  for  you  to  write.  [Mrs.  Mumford's  hand  was  crippled 
with  rheumatism.]  Don't  fear  for  a  moment  that  I  should 
think  you  indifferent  to  my  comfort.  How  could  I  possibly 
think  it,  with  so  many  proofs  to  the  contrary?  If  I  ever  in- 
dulged any  hard  thoughts,  it  has  been  my  sin,  for  which  I 
need  the  forgiveness  of  God :  it  has  been  prompted  by  the 
same  spirit  which  has  too  often  led  me  to  'charge  God  fool- 
ishly. '  But  so  far  from  this  feeling  being  the  offspring  of  my 
calmer  moments  and  better  judgment,  it  is  only  the  effects  of 
an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  an  impetuous  will,  and  a  momentary 
loss  of  common  sense,  for  I  know  and  frmly  believe  that  God 
will  do  all  things  well.     Let  us  trust  in  Him. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  and  seasonable  advice.  I 
do  pray  and  read  the  Scriptures  with  Maria,  and  she  prayed 
aloud  the  other  day,  \hQ  first  tiviesho.  has  ever  done  so  in  any- 
body's presence.  I  hope  the  work  is  begun;  if  not  I  tremble 
for  her.  But  charity  hopeth  all  things — believeth  all  things. 
I  have  had  a  deal  of  talk  to  her  about  election  and  Christian 
perfection,  the  last  of  which  she  would  not  admit  to  be  possi- 
ble. I  never  felt  clearer  light  on  these  points  than  now.  Oh, 
the  depth  of  the  riches  and  the  wisdom  of  God ! 

"  If  I  am  able  I  shall  go  next  Sunday  to  class  in  the  after- 
noon, and  Maria  is  going  with  me  to  see  what  a  class-meeting 
is  like.  Her  church  holds  Calvinistic  doctrines.  I  went  to 
her  chapel  once,  but  could  not  receive  all  I  heard,  though  I 
believe  the  minister  was  a  true  Christian.  I  am  sorry  she 
has  received  these  opinions,  and  am  endeavouring  by  simple 
Scripture,  which  is  the  best  weapon,  to  show  her  the  true  ex- 


HER  DIARY. 


57 


tent  of  the  blessed  Atonement.  She  says  I  have  thrown  much 
light  upon  her  mind,  and  she  desires  to  be  led  into  all  truth.  If 
so,  the  Spirit  will  guide  her.     May  it  be  so.     Amen ! " 

In  a  subsequent  letter  she  says: 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  the  beach.  It  is  a  lovely  morn- 
ing, but  very  rough  and  cold.  The  sea  looks  sublime.  I 
never  saw  it  so  troubled.  Its  waters  "  cast  up  mire  and  dirt," 
and  lash  the  shore  with  great  violence.  The  sun  shines  with 
full  splendour,  which  makes  the  scene  truly  enchanting.  It 
only  wants  good  health  and  plenty  of  strength  to  walk  about 
and  keep  oneself  warm,  for  it  is  too  cold  to  sit.  There  is  a 
meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  the  Town  Hall  this 
evening.  If  I  feel  able,  I  think  of  going,  but  I  shall  not  stop 
late.  I  am  indignant  at  the  Conference  for  their  base  treat- 
ment of  Mr.  Burnett.  But  I  quite  expected  it,  when  he  gave 
a  conscientious  affidavit  in  Mr.  Hardy's  case.  Well,  it  will 
all  come  down  on  their  own  pates.  The  Lord  will  reward 
them  according  to  their  doings,  if  they  only  persevere  a  little 
longer.     Reform  is  certain. 

"  I  wish  I  could  see  you,  though  I  should  be  sorry  to  come 
home  just  yet.  The  change  is  most  agreeable  to  my  feelings. 
It  is  like  a  new  world  to  me.  I  was  heartily  sick  of  looking  at 
brick  and  mortar.  Oh,  I  love  the  sublime  in  nature !  It  ab- 
sorbs my  whole  soul.  I  cannot  resist  it,  nor  do  I  envy  those 
who  can.  There  is  nothing  on  earth  more  pleasing  and  pro- 
fitable to  me  than  the  meditations  and  emotions  excited  by 
such  scenes  as  I  witness  here.  I  only  want  those  I  love  best 
to  participate  my  joys,  and  then  they  would  be  complete. 
For  though  I  possess  a  share  of  that  monstrous  ugly  thing 
called  selfishness  in  common  with  our  fallen  race,  yet  I  ean  say 
my  own  pleasure  is  always  enhanced  by  the  pleasure  of  others, 
and  always  embittered  by  their  sorrows.  Thanks  be  to  God, 
for  it  is  by  His  grace  that  I  am  what  I  am.  Oh,  for  that  ft:l- 
ness  of  love  which  destroys  self  and  fills  the  soul  with  Heaven- 
born  generosity ! 

"  Brighton  is  very  full  of  company.  Many  a  poor  invalid  is 
here  strolling  about  in  search  of  that  pearl  of  great  price — 
health.  Some,  like  the  fortunate  diver,  spy  the  precious  gem, 
and,  hugging  it  to  their  bosoms,  return,  rejoicing  in  the  pos- 
session of  real  riches.  But  many,  alas,  find  it  not,  and  return 
only  to  bewail  their  misfortune.     Whichever  class  I  may  be 


1847, 
Age  18. 


Her  love 
of  nature. 


A  pleas- 
ant 
change. 


Health- 
seekers. 


58  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1847,       amongst,  I  hope  I  shall  not  have  cause  to  regret  my  visit.     If  I 

Age  18.     fln(j  j^Q^  health  of  body,  I   hope  my  soul  will  be  strengthened 

with  might,  so  that  if  the  outward  form  should  decay,   the 

inward  may  be  renewed  day  by  day. 

The  "  I  should  like  to  spend  another  week  or  two  here.     It  would 

needful,     ^g  delightful.     One  only  wants  the  needful,  and  there  seems 

to  be  plenty  of  it  in  Brighton,  though  I  don't  happen  on  it! 

There  are  bills  in  all  directions  announcing  the  loss  of  gold 

watches,  seals,  keys,  brooches,  boas,  etc.,  and  offering  rewards 

according  to  the  value  of  the  article,  but,   alas,  I   have  not 

been  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  mite  yet ! 

Thp  Exhi-       "  I  will  write  again  on  Monday,  so  that  you  may  get  it  be- 

hitwn.      fQj-e  you  go  to  the  Exhibition.     Oh,  I  should  like  to  see  it 

again  so  much.     It  seems  a  pity  for  such  magnificence  to  be 

disturbed.     I  hope  the  closing  ceremony  will  be  worthy  of 

its  history. 

"  There  is  one  thing  I  trust  will  not  be  forgotten,  that  is,  to 
give  God  thanks  for  having  so  singularly  disappointed  our 
enemies  and  surpassed  the  expectations  of  our  friends.  This 
unparalleled  production  of  art  and  science  was  born  in  good- 
will, has  lived  in  universal  popularity,  and  will,  no  doubt,  ex- 
pire with  majestic  grandeur,  lamented  by  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth. 

"  Pray  for  me,  my  dear  mother,  and  believe  me  with  all  my 
faults  and  besetments— 

"  Your  affectionate  and  loving  child, 

"  Catherine." 

Praying        There    IS    a   touching-   passage    in    the    diary   with 
for  her     reference  to  her  father : 

father. 

"I  was  much  blessed  in  the  morning  at  private 
prayer,  particularly  in  commending  my  dear  parents 
into  the  hands  of  God.  I  sometimes  get  into  an 
agony  of  feeling  while  praying  for  my  dear  father. 
O  my  Lord,  answer  prayer,  and  bring  him  back  to 
Thyself!  Never  let  that  tongue,  which  once  de- 
lighted in  praising  Thee,  and  in  showing  others  Thy 
willingness  to  save,  be  engaged  in  uttering  the  lamen- 
tations of  the   lost!     O  awful  thought!     Lord,  have 


HER  DIARY.  59 

mercy!  Save,  oli,  save  him,  in  any  way  Thou  seest  1847, 
best,  though  it  be  ever  so  painful.  If  by  removing  ^^  ^ 
me  Thou  canst  do  this,  cut  short  Thy  work  and  take 
me  home.  Let  me  be  bold  to  speak  in  Thy  name. 
Oh,  give  me  true  Christian  courage  and  lively  zeal, 
and  when  I  write  to  him  from  this  place,  bless  what 
I  say  to  the  good  of  his  soul!" 

In  a  later  entry  she  adds : 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  my  dear  father,  which 
did  me  good  telling  me  of  some  resolutions  he  had 
half  formed.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to  him,  and 
feel  much  blessed  in  so  doing.  I  believe  I  had  the 
assistance  of  the  Spirit." 

A  good  deal  of  Catherine's  time  was  spent  in  writ-    Personal 
ing  spiritual  letters  to  her  friends  and  relations,  and    '^"'  '"^• 
she  found  greater  freedom  in  doing  so  than  in  the 
hand-to-hand,  personal  conflict  in  which  she  became 
afterward  so  successful. 

"I  have  this  day  seen  a  lady,"  continues  the  diary, 
"  to  whom  I  wrote  a  faithful  and  warning  letter.  I 
wonder  if  it  made  any  impression  on  her.  .  .  .  My 
dear  cousin  Ann  was  here  yesterday.  I  tried  to  im- 
press upon  her  the  importance  of  giving  her  heart  to 
God  in  her  youth.  But  I  feel  myself  most  at  liberty  ^^^^  ^.^_ 
in  writing.     She  promised  to  write  and  tell  me  the     erti/jn 

^  ^  ivnfmg. 

state  of  her  mind.  Then  I  shall  answer  her.  Oh, 
may  the  Lord  bless  my  humble  endeavours  for  His 
glory !  .  .  .  One  of  my  dear  cousins  is  very  ill ;  I 
think  in  a  deep  decline.  She  has  three  little  children. 
But  the  Lord  graciously  supports  her,  and  often  fills 
her  with  His  love.  I  frequently  write  long  letters  to 
her  on  spiritual  subjects,  and  the  Lord  owns  my  weak 
endeavours  by  blessing  them  to  her  good." 

The  record  of  her  first  experiences  in  visiting  the     visiting 
sick  is  extremely  interesting.  "^^  ^^''^- 


6o 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1847, 
Age  18, 


Praying 
in  class. 


Love  for 

her 
mother. 


A  painful 
incident. 


"  This  has  been  a  blessed  day  to  my  soul.  In  the 
morning  I  had  much  liberty  in  prayer.  This  afternoon 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  visited  the  sick,  and 
endeavoured  to  lead  one  poor  young  girl  to  Jesus.  I 
think,  if  spared,  this  will  be  a  duty  I  shall  greatly  de- 
light in.  But  Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done!  I  have  not 
been  blessed  so  much  for  weeks  as  I  was  to-night  at 
the  class  I  engaged  in  prayer.  The  cross  was  great, 
but  so  was  the  reward.  My  heart  beat  violently,  but 
I  felt  some  liberty.  Oh,  how  sweet  is  Christian  com- 
munion !  Hail,  happy  day,  when  we  shall  meet  to 
part  no  more  around  the  Throne!" 

Although  her  absence  from  home  was  for  so  short  a 
time,  there  are  some  tender  references  to  her  mother : 

"  Home  is  particularly  sweet  to  me.  Who  can  tell 
the  value  of  a  mother's  attention  and  care,  until  de- 
prived of  it?  But,  blessed  be  God,  we  shall  soon  meet 
again,  and  after  all  our  meetings  and  partings  here 
on  earth,  we  shall  meet  to  part  no  more  in  glory.  .  .  . 
My  mind  has  been  wounded  to-day  by  several  little 
occurrences,  and  to-night  my  feelings  vented  them- 
selves in  tears.  Oh,  how  I  long  to  get  home  to  my 
dearest  mother !  I  feel  greatly  the  loss  of  some  kin- 
dred spirit,  some  true  bosom  friend.  My  mind  is  re- 
joiced at  the  thought  of  going  home." 

After  her  return  to  London,  the  journal  refers  to 
the  following  striking  but  painful  incident : 

"  Since  last  week  we  have  been  deeply  moved  by 
circumstances  of  a  very  affecting  nature.  My  dear 
cousin  has  been  here  at  times  lately.  She  was  ex- 
pecting to  be  married  next  Thursday,  and  I  was  think- 
ing of  going  down  to  Southampton  with  them. 
They  had  a  house  prepared  for  their  reception ;  but 
alas,  how  soon  is  the  cup  of  happiness  dashed  from 
our  hands,  and  how  quickly  do  our  dreams  vanish ! 


HER  DIARY. 


6i 


The  young  man  was  taken  suddenly  ill  on  the  Friday 
and  died  on  the  Tuesday  morning.  Blessed  be  God ! 
he  died  in  peace,  and  I  doubt  not  is  now  in  Heaven. 
He  is  to  be  buried  on  Thursday  next,  his  intended 
wedding  day!  Oh,  that  I  may  be  found  watching, 
when  my  Lord  shall  come!" 

On  the  28th  of  November  she  writes:  "This  has 
been  an  especially  good  day  to  my  soul.  I  have  been 
reading  the  life  of  Mr.  William  Carvosso.  Oh,  what 
a  man  of  faith  and  prayer  was  he !  My  expectations 
were  raised  when  I  began  the  book.  I  prayed  for  the 
Divine  blessing  on  it,  and  it  has  been  granted.  My 
desires  after  holiness  have  been  much  increased. 
This  day  I  have  sometimes  seemed  on  the  verge  of 
the  good  land.  Oh,  for  mighty  faith!  I  believe  the 
Lord  is  willing  and  able  to  save  me  to  the  uttermost. 
I  believe  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanses  from  all 
sin.  And  yet  there  seems  something  in  the  way  to 
prevent  me  from  fully  entering  in.  But  to-day  I  be- 
lieve at  times  I  have  had  tastes  of  perfect  love.  Oh, 
that  these  may  be  droppings  before  an  overwhelming 
shower  of  grace.  My  chief  desire  is  holiness  of 
heart.  This  is  the  prevailing  cry  of  my  soul.  To- 
night 'sanctify  me  through  Thy  truth — Thy  word  is 
truth!'  Lord,  answer  my  Redeemer's  prayer.  I 
see  this  full  salvation  is  highly  necessary  in  order  for 
me  to  glorify  my  God  below  and  find  my  way  to 
heaven.  For  'without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord!'  My  soul  is  at  times  very  happy.  I  have  felt 
many  assurances  of  pardoning  mercy.  But  I  want  a 
clean  Jicart.  Oh,  my  Lord,  take  me  and  seal  me  to 
the  day  of  redemption." 

Again  she  writes: 

"This  has  been  a  good  day  to  my  soul.  This 
morning  I  felt  very  happy,  and  held  sweet  commun- 


1847, 
Age  1 8. 


Seekinf) 
holiness. 


Tastes  of 

perfect 

love. 


Happy! 


62  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1848,      ion  with  my  God.     I  feel  very  poorly,  and  excessively 

^^  ^^'    low,  but  I  find  great  relief  in  pouring  out  my  soul  to 

God  in  prayer.     Oh,  I  should  like  to  leave  this  world 

of  sin  and  sorrow,  and  go  where  I  could  not  grieve 

my  Lord  again!" 

At  the  beginning  of  the  New  Year  ( 1 848)  she  has  the 
following  entry: 

"I  have  been  writing  a  few  daily  rules  for  the  com- 
ing year,  which  I  hope  will  prove  a  blessing  to  me  by 
the  grace  of  God.     I  have  got  a  printed  paper  of  rules 
also,  which  I  intend  to  read  once  a  week.     May  the 
Lord  help  me  to  adhere  to  them.     But,  above  all,  I 
Searching  ^^  determined  to  search  the  Scriptures  more  atten- 
^^tufZ^^'  tiv^^Y'  ^o^  i^  them  I   have   eternal  life.     I  have  read 
my    Bible    through    twice    during   the    last   sixteen 
months,  but  I  must  read  it  with  more  prayer  for  light 
and    understanding.     Oh,  may  it    be    my  meat   and 
drink !     May  I  meditate  on  it  day  and  night !     And 
then  I  shall  'bring  forth  fruit  in  season,  my  leaf  also 
shall  not  wither,  and  whatsoever  I  do  shall  prosper. '  " 
A  few  days  later  we  have  an  interesting  glimpse 
behind  the  scenes: 
Sgif_  "  I  have  renewed  my  practice  of  abstaining  from 

denying,    (jinncr  on  a  Friday,  and  from  butter  in  the  morning. 
I  had  discontinued  this   for  some  time.     O  my  Lord, 
help  me  to  be  more  fully  decided  in  all  things,  and 
not  to  confer  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  to  be  bold  to 
take  up  and  firm  to  sustain  the  consecrated  cross." 
On  the  17th  January,  1848,  she  writes: 
Her  nine-       "  Nineteen  years  to-day  I  have  lived  in  this  world 
birthday,    of  sin  and  sorrow.      But  oh,  I  have  had  many  sweets 
mingled  with  the  bitter.     I  have  very  much  to  praise 
my  God  for,  more  than  I  can  conceive.      May  I  for  the 
future  live  to  praise  Him,  and  to  bring  glory  to  His 
name.     Amen." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    REFORMERS.      1829-1852. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  a  great  agitation  arose  in     ^.^g  ^^ 
the  Wesleyan  community,  leading  ultimately  to  the  -^^^"^  '^"^' 

J  ^  '  to  J  troversy. 

withdrawal  or  expulsion  of  about  one  hundred  thous- 
and of  its  members.  Miss  Mumford  became  inter- 
ested in  the  controversy,  and,  since  her  action  in 
regard  to  the  matter  affected  the  whole  of  her  subse- 
quent career,  it  will  be  necessary  to  explain  briefly 
its  origin  and  history. 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Society  was  founded  by  The  Wes- 
John  Wesley  in    1739.     Five  years  later  he  held  his  ^sSioT.' 
first  conference  of  preachers.      But  it  was  not  until 
1783  that  he  drew  up  his  Deed  Poll,  establishing  an 
annual  conference,  which  consisted  of  one  hundred 
ministers,  now  known  as  the  "Legal  Hundred."     The  The  Legal 
members  were  appointed  for  life,  the  gaps  caused  by 
death  being  annually  filled  up  by  the  votes    of  the 
conference.     To  this  body  Wesley  delegated  the  au-   Wesleyan 

■^  ^  o  autocrat. 

tocratic  powers  which,   during  his    lifetime,  he    had 

reserved  in  his  own  hands.     The  democratic  element  The  dem- 
ocratic 
had,  however,  after  Wesley's  death,  gradually  gained    element. 

strength,  claiming  for  itself  a  voice  in  the  Connex- 

ional  government,  and  in  the  administration    of    its 

revenues.      How  far  the  governmental  question  was 

used  as  a  catch-cry  by  a  dissatisfied  minority  of  the   ^Vas  u  a 

ministers  who  hoped,  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  peo-       cryf 

pie,  to  climb  into  office  and  dispossess  the  party  then 

63 


64  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1847,       in  power,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say.     It  is  certain,  how- 
^^^  ^^'    ever,  that  it  gave  rise  to  several  agitations,  in    the 
course  of  which  the  secessions  occurred  which  led  to 
Origin  of  the  establishment  of  the  younger  branches  of  Meth- 
formers.    odistti.     The   most   serious   of   these   disputes    com- 
menced in   1844,  with  the  publication  of  an  anony- 
The  Fly    mous  pamphlet  entitled  "  Fly  Sheets  from  the  Private 
Sheets,     coi-i-espondent,"  purporting  to  be  issued  "by  order 
of  the  Corresponding  Committee  for  detecting,  expos- 
ing and  correcting  abuses."     Wholesale  charges   of 
maladministration  were  levelled  against  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  Connexion,  and  sweeping  reforms  were 
advocated  by  the  writer,  in  terms  which  were  calcu- 
lated to  embitter  the  existing  controversy.     In  1846 
the  second  number  of  the  Fly  Sheets  appeared,  and 
in  the  three  following  years  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
were  published. 
The  men        The  Annual  Conference  of  1 847  decided  that  meas- 
ures should  be  taken  for  the  discovery  and  punishment 
of    "the    men  in  masks,"  who  were    the  writers   of 
these  pamphlets,  since  it  was  manifest  that  the  mat- 
ter could  no  longer  be  ignored,  being  calculated  to 
exercise  a  mischievous  influence,  subversive  of  confi- 
dence and  discipline.     The  authors  of  the  Fly  Sheets 
were  known  to  be  ministers ;  it  was  therefore  resolved 
^     ^,       that  each  minister  in  the  Connexion  should  be  re- 

Thc    Con- 

ference     quired  to  givc  a  definite  "Yes"  or  "No"  answer,  as 

asserts  its  .  -    .        , 

author-  to  whether  he  had  been  m  any  way  concerned  m  the 
publication.  The  objection  raised  against  such  a  pro- 
ceeding, as  unusual,  unjustifiable,  and  inquisitorial  in 
its  character,  was  over-ruled,  and  a  declaration,  re- 
pudiating any  connexion  with  the  authorship  of  the 
pamphlets,  was  drawn  up  for  signature. 
The  Seventy  ministers  refused  to  sign  this  document. 

brotherly  -^  ^ 

question.    Of  these,  however,  some  forty  gave  an  implied  denial.  ' 


THE  REFORMERS.  65 

With  regard  to  the  others  it  was  decided  that  those  1847, 
who  might  be  suspected  should  be  called  to  appear  ^^  ^  ' 
before  the  Conference,  when  a  "brotherly  question" 
should  be  put  to  them  by  the  president,  and  that,  in 
case  of  their  refusal  to  answer,  they  should  be  dealt 
with  for  contumacy.  The  result  of  this  course  of 
action  was  that,  in  1849,  three  of  the  ministers,  who 
were  looked  upon  as  the  leaders  in  the  agitation,  were 
expelled  from  the  society,  while  others,  who  had  more 
or  less  supported  or  sympathised  with  them,  were 
reprimanded. 

But  this  firm  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  Conference,  The  con- 
instead  of  putting  an  end  to  the  controversy,  only  Iprl^ds. 
served  to  add  fresh  fuel  to  the  flames,  and  converted 
what  had  hitherto  been  to  a  large  extent  a  ministerial 
squabble  into  a  widespread  conflict,  which  convulsed 
the  entire  denomination.  The  aggrieved  party  had 
anticipated  the  probable  result  of  its  uncompromising 
attitude,  and  had  prepared  itself  for  a  prolonged 
struggle  by  the  issue  of  journals  and  pamphlets  which 
would  advocate  its  policy  of  reform  and  ventilate  its 
grievances.  The  most  important  of  these  was  TAe 
Weslcyan    Times,   a  weekly  newspaper,  of    which  the   The  Wes- 

•  1  1  1     T  leyan 

first    number  was   issued  on  the  8th  January,  1849.      Times. 
It  purported  to  be  a  liberal  and  independent  organ, 
bound  to  no  particular  party,  but   representing   the 
true  interests  of  the  Wesleyan  body.     As  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  became  the  medium  of  the  agitators  who  were 
subsequently   known    as   the    Reformers,    while   the 
Watchman  was  the  mouthpiece  of  the  conservatives.         waXch- 
Certainly  the    acrimonious    spirit  which  the    con-      '^""■• 
fiict   assumed    reflected   little    credit   on   either   the 
one  side  or  the  other.     The  "  Fly  Sheets"  were  marked 
by  a  personality  and  animosity  which  it  would  have  teredfeel- 
been  all  but  impossible  to  tolerate  within  the  ranks  of      ^^^^' 
5 


66  '  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1849,      any  well-ordered  organisation,  and  which  were  sadly 
Age  20.    antagonistic  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  orthodox  party  would  have 
done  well  to  exercise  greater  patience  and  self-con- 
trol. A  few  timely  concessions,  a  resolute  determi- 
nation not  to  return  railing  for  railing,  and  an  exer- 
cise of  persistent  love  toward  the  malcontents  and 
their  numerous  friends  would  no  doubt  have  saved 
the  Connexion  from  many  of  its  heaviest  losses.  At 
any  rate,  it  would  have  been  the  soundest  and  most  con- 
vincing proof  that  the  charges  heaped  upon  the  Con- 
ference by  its  enemies  were  base  and  foundationless 
calumnies,  and  that  its  leaders  were  still,  what  they 
professed  to  be,  the  true  representatives  of  John 
Wesley's  teachings,  the  veritable  and  worthy  succes- 
sors of  their  venerable  apostle.  Had  such  a  course 
^  loss^^'^^  been  pursued,  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  would  at 
least  have  happily  retained  within  their  pale  two  de- 
voted members,  who  were  destined,  perhaps,  to  be  the 
most  prominent  figures  in  the  religious  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Unfortunately  the  disputants  on 
either  side  allowed  themselves  to  be  betrayed  into 
language  which  can  scarcely  be  justified,  however 
righteous  the  cause  it  was  intended  to  defend. 
Some  It  cannot  be  denied,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  Re- 

com-      formers  had  some  reason  for  complaint.     The  conduct 
ij  ain .     ^£   ^^^    Conference    had    in    several    instances    been 
arbitrary  and  high-handed.     The  utmost  stretch  of 
charity  could  hardly  invent  any  justifiable  motive  for 
The  ban-    their  suddcu  banishment  of  the  remarkable  American 
of  Can-    evangelist  Caughey,  and  this  at  a  time  when  he  was 
in  the  very  zenith  of  his  success.     He  was  a  Methodist 
minister,  and  his  doctrines  agreed  in  every  particular 
with  those  of  the  Conference.     Crowds  flocked  to  his 
meetings    from    all    the    country-side,   thousands    of 


(jhey. 


THE  REFORMERS.  6y 

souls  sought  salvation,  and  the  revival  was  at  its  flood-       1850, 
tide,  when  the  Conference  compelled  his  withdrawal,       ^^ 
causing  wide-spread  discontent  among  multitudes  of 
the  most  loyal  ministers  and  members  of  the  Connex- 
ion, and  exposing  themselves  to  charges  of  envy  and 
jealousy  to  which  it  was  very  difficult  to  reply. 

Nevertheless,  the  Reformers  put  themselves  in  the  injurious 
wrong  by  resorting  to  personalities  and  invectives  i^es. 
which  no  amount  of  provocation  could  palliate  or  ex- 
cuse. Nor  is  it  probable  that  the  remedies  which  they 
proposed  would  have  served  to  eradicate  the  evils  of 
which  they  complained.  In  all  likelihood  they  would 
but  have  substituted  another  class  of  difficulties  for 
those  which  they  were  seeking  to  combat.  Indeed  it 
is  open  to  question  whether  an  opposite  policy  might 
not  have  been  the  best. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  by  any  student  of  Methodist    Wesley's 

,  r  despot- 

history  that  Wesley  s  own  government  was  far  more       mn. 

despotic    than    that  of  the  "Legal    Hundred."     But 

the  conviction  that  he  was  actuated  by  the    purest 

motives,  and  supremely  fitted  for  his    post,  enabled 

him  to  hold  the  reins  of  his  paternal  monarchy  with  a 

firm  yet  elastic  hand,  his  authority  unquestioned,  and 

his  person  to  the  last  beloved.      Had   he,  like  Moses,    should  u 

delegated  his  authority  to  some  Joshua,  or  like  Elijah     '^^co^i-^''^^ 

dropped  his  falling  mantle  upon  some  Elisha,  and  had     ^"^^'^^'-^ 

these  in  turn  chosen  similar  successors,  it  is  possible 

that  the  interests  of  the  Connexion  would  have  been 

better   safeguarded,    and    its    spirituality    preserved, 

than  by  the  institution  of  the  "Legal  Hundred."     On 

this,  opinions  are  certain  to  differ. 

To  substitute  the  rule  of  the  sheep  for  that  of  the    The  rule 
shepherds  has,  it  is  true,  some  obvious  advantages.      %eep^. 
But  whether  the  counterbalancing  dangers  and  draw- 
backs are  not  of  a  still  more  serious  character  was  and 


68 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1851, 
Age  22. 

Miss 
Muni- 
foriVs 
views. 


Longing 
for   a  re- 
vival. 


The  po- 
pish test. 


Hetalin- 

tory 
measures 

Thou- 
sands ex- 
pelled. 


must  be  still  open  to  grave  controversy.  Miss  Mum- 
ford's  intense  sympathy  wth  the  people  led  her  to  re- 
gard the  controversy  with  more  than  ordinary  interest. 
Her  views  of  church  government  .subsequently  under- 
went a  great  change,  but  at  the  time  of  which  we 
write,  although  so  staunch  a  Wesleyan  she  strongly 
favoured  the  Congregational  system. 

She  longed,  moreover,  to  see  a  revival  of  old-time 
Methodism  with  its  deep  spirituality  and  intense  pas- 
sion for  souls.  Hence  she  hailed  the  Reform  move- 
ment as  the  harbinger  of  a  happier  era  when  her 
church  should  be  restored  to  its  first  love,  the  souls  of 
the  people  revived,  and  the  spirit  of  its  founders  should 
reinspire  both  rank  and  file  with  the  zeal  and  unction 
which  had  constituted  their  attraction  and  power  in 
days  of  yore. 

Miss  Mumford  studied  with  deep  interest  the  re- 
ports of  the  agitation,  sitting  up  often  till  the  small 
hours  of  the  night  reading  to  her  mother  the  accounts 
of  the  so-called  "popish  test,"  and  the  expulsion  of 
the  ministers.  Her  indignation  was  excited  by  what 
she  looked  upon  as  the  arbitrary  action  of  the  Con- 
ference. She  attended  several  of  the  meetings  held 
in  London  by  the  Reformers,  the  most  important  of 
these  being  one  in  Exeter  Hall  at  which  addresses 
were  delivered  by  the  expelled  ministers  and  resolu- 
tions adopted  approving  their  attitude,  and  instituting 
a  committee  to  further  the  interests  of  the  agitation. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  Conference  responded  to 
the  action  of  the  Reformers  by  retaliatory  measures. 
Thousands  of  their  sympathisers  were  expelled  from 
the  ranks,  whilst  those  who  remained  were  required 
to  abstain  from  attending  their  gatherings.  A  clear, 
sharp  line  was  drawn,  and  those  who  persisted  in  cross- 
ing it  were  visited  with  the  penalties  of  interdiction. 


THE  REFORMERS.  69 

The  outspoken  manner  in  which  she  had  expressed      1851, 
her  condemnation  of  the  Conference  and  sympathy       ^^  ^^' 
with  the  Reformers  was  naturally  objected  to  by  her  uer  ciass- 
class-leader,  who  remonstrated  with  her  on  the  folly    ^^^rmjes^' 
of  her  course,  reminding  her  that  in  identifying  her-      Mum- 
self  with  the  malcontents  she  would  not  only  forfeit      •^"''■^• 
her  position  in  the  church  she  loved,  but  seriously  in- 
jure   her   worldly   prospects.     Such    considerations, 
however,  carried  little  weight  with  the  high-spirited 
girl. 

The  prospect  was  indeed  a  painful  one.     She  still  a  painful 

prospect. 

loved  Methodism  with  all  her  heart.  But  there  was 
something  that  she  loved  still  better,  her  conception 
of  what  was  right.  To  her  duty  was  duty,  however 
disagreeable  it  might  be.  Not  a  hair's-breadth  would 
she  swerve  from  what  she  believed  to  be  the  cause  of 
righteousness.  She  never  paused  to  consider  whether 
she  would  be  in  a  minority.  '"'■  Fiat  justitia,  mat  cae- 
lum'— let  justice  be  done,  though  the  skies  fall — was 
the  principle  on  which  she  acted  throughout  life.  -^^^^ 
And  on  the  present  occasion  she  could  not  consent    J^v.m.- 

'■  J  or  a  ex- 

to  withhold  her  sympathy  and  countenance  from  the     peiied. 
cause  of  those  who  appeared  to  have  been  wronged. 
Finding  arguments  of  no  avail,  her  class-leader  re- 
luctantly decided  to  withhold  Miss  Mumford's  ticket 
of  membership. 

It  is  customary  in  the  Wesleyan  body  to  grant  to  hoiv  u 
each  member  a  ticket,  which  is  renewed  from  quarter  "'""^ 
to  quarter.  A  periodical  revision  of  the  rolls  by  the 
office-bearers  of  each  society  is  thus  insured,  the  non- 
renewal of  the  ticket  being  tantamount  to  expulsion. 
From  the  decision  of  the  superintending  minister  and 
his  staff  there  is  practically  no  appeal.  It  was  thus 
that  Miss  Mumford  found  herself  expelled  from  the 
Wesleyan  Church. 


70  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1852,  "This  was  one  of  the  first  great  troubles  of  my 

^^^^'  life,"  says  Mrs.  Booth,  "and  cost  me  the  keenest 
Her  first  anguish.  I  was  young.  I  had  been  nursed  and 
troxMe.  Cradled  in  Methodism,  and  loved  it  with  a  love  which 
has  gone  altogether  out  of  fashion  among  Protestants 
for  their  church.  At  the  same  time  I  was  dissatis- 
fied with  the  formality,  worldliness,  and  defection 
from  what  I  conceived  Methodism  ought  to  be,  judg- 
ing from  its  early  literature  and  biographies  as  well 
as  from  Wesley's  own  writings  and  his  brother's 
hymns.  I  believed  that  through  the  agitation  some- 
thing would  arise  which  would  be  better,  holier,  and 
more  thorough.  Here  were  men  who,  in  my  simplic- 
ity, I  supposed  wanted  to  bring  back  the  fervour  and 
aggressiveness  of  by-gone  days.  In  this  hope  and  in 
sympathy  with  the  wrongs  that  I  believed  the  Re- 
formers had  suffered,  I  drifted  away  from  the  Wes- 
leyan  Church,  apparently  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  that 
was  dearest  to  me,  and  of  nearly  every  personal 
friend." 
She  takes       It  SO  happened  that  the  Reformers  had  commenced 

a  class  11-1  . 

among     to  hold  mcctmgs  lu  a  hall  near  Miss  Mumford's  home. 

formers.  She  was  offered  and  accepted  the  senior  class  in  the 
Sunday-school,  consisting  of  some  fifteen  girls,  whose 
ages  ranged  from  twelve  to  nineteen. 

For  the  next  three  years  she  threw  her  whole  heart 
into  this  effort,  preparing  her  lessons  with  great  care, 
devoting  at  least  two  half-days  every  week  to  this 
purpose,  and  striving  to  bring  every  lesson  to  a  prac- 
tical result.     When  the  rest  of  the  school  had  been 

the  'key.  dismisscd  she  would  beg  the  key  from  the  superin- 
tendent, and  hold  a  prayer-meeting  with  her  girls. 
This  resulted  in  the  conversion  of    several,  one    of 

Wonder     ^^°"^  ^^^^  triumphantly. 
M  times.       "  I  used  to  have   some  wonderful  times  with  my 


THE  REFORMERS.  71 

class,"  she  tells  us.     "I  made  them  pray,  and  I  am      1852, 
sure  that  anybody  coming  into  one  of  these  meetings    ^^  ^^' 
would  have  seen  very  much  what  a  Salvation  Army 
consecration     meeting    is    now.     They     usually    all 
stopped,  and  sometimes  our  prayer-meetings  would 
last  an  hour  and  a  half.     Often  I  went  on  till  I  lost  ^  ^osinq 

her  voice. 

my  voice,  not  regaining  it  for  a  day  or  two  after.  I 
used  to  invite  them  to  talk  to  me  privately  if  anything 
I  said  had  struck  them,  and  at  such  times  they  would 
pour  out  their  hearts  to  me,  as  if  I  had  been  their 
mother. 

"However,  I  was  a  great  deal    disappointed  with       Dis- 
the  Reformers.     I  had  hoped  that  we  were  upon  the  Tvith^hf 
eve  of  a  great  spiritual  revival.     Instead  of  this  every-    ^''{°/J^' 
thing  was  conducted  very  much  in  the  ordinary  style, 
and   I  soon  became  heartily  sick  of  the  spirit  of  de- 
bate and  controversy  which  prevailed  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  to  cripple  the  life  and  power  of  the  concern." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
WILLIAM  BOOTH.     1829-1852. 


The  Gen- 
eral's 
birth- 
place. 

His 
mother. 


His 
father. 


His  con- 
version. 


He  joins 
the  Wes- 
leyans. 


A  zealous 
band. 


William  Booth  was  born  in  Nottingham  on  the 
loth  April,  1829.  His  mother  was  of  so  amiable  a  dis- 
position and  saintly  a  character  that  he  regarded  her 
as  the  nearest  approach  to  human  perfection  with 
which  he  was  acquainted.  His  father,  an  able  and 
energetic  man  of  business,  attained  a  position  of 
affluence,  but  subsequently  suffered  a  reverse  of  for- 
tune, and  died  prematurely,  leaving  his  family  to 
struggle  with  adverse  circumstances.  William,  the 
sole  surviving  son,  was  apprenticed  at  an  early  age  to 
a  firm,  where  it  soon  became  manifest  that  he  had  in- 
herited a  double  portion  of  his  father's  enterprise  and 
commercial  skill. 

Reared  in  the  Church  of  England,  he  knew  nothing 
of  conversion,  until,  happening  to  stray  into  a  Wes- 
leyan  chapel,  his  attention  was  arrested  by  the  nov- 
elty and  simplicity  of  the  services.  For  some  time  he 
continued  to  attend.  The  truths,  tersely  and  power- 
fully expounded,  took  an  increasing  hold  of  his  mind, 
and  on  one  memorable  evening,  after  days  and  nights 
of  anxious  seeking  he  publicly  and  unreservedly  gave 
his  heart  to  God.  With  his  mother's  consent,  he 
became  immediately  a  member  of  the  chapel,  and, 
though  but  a  lad  of  fifteen,  he  gave  proof  in  manifold 
measure  of  the  reality  of  his  conversion. 

Connected  with  the  chapel  was  a  band  of  zealous 
young   men   with   whom   he   associated,   and   whose 

72 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  73 

recognised   leader   he    soon    became.     With    one   of  1844, 

these,  William  Sansom,  he  was  specially  intimate,  and  ^^ 

when,  a  little  later,  this  colleague  ruptured  a  blood-  Deuiu  <,/ 

vessel  in  a  prayer-meeting  and  died,  Mr.  Booth  ar-  friend. 
ranged  a  special  funeral  service,  closely  resembling 
those  subsequently  held  in  the  Salvation  Army. 

During  these  early  days  he  was  as  indefatigable  a  a  hard 

.        -,  TT       .  .  -,  1         •  worker. 

worker  as  m  later  years.     Unable  to  leave  busmess 

until  eight  o'clock,  he  would  hurry  away  each  evening 

to  hold  cottage  meetings,   which  usually  lasted    till 

ten,  and  which  were  often  succeeded  by  calls  to  visit 

the  sick  and  dying. 

Open-air  services  were  constantly  held  in   connec-     a  bom 
•  1       1  •  1  ■  11       Salva- 

tion with  these  meetings,  and   processions  were  led     tionist. 

down  the  Goosegate  and  other  thoroughfares,  bring- 
ing to  the  chapel  such  a  tatterdermalion  crowd  as 
soon  gave  rise  to  a  request  from  the  minister  that  the  the  back- 
intruders  should  be  conducted  to  the  back  entrance 
and  seated  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  building,  where 
their  presence  would  be  less  conspicuous  and  dis- 
agreeable to  the  more  respectable  members  of  the 
congregation. 

However,  without  allowing  himself  to  be  discour-     ToUing 
aged  by  such  rebuffs,  Mr.  Booth  and  his  little  band 
toiled  on,  happy  in  each  other's  companionship,  and 
in  the  success  with  which  their  labours  were  crowned. 
On  the  Sunday  he  would  often  walk  long  distances 
into  the  country  to  fulfil  some  village  appointment, 
stumbling   his  way    home    late    at   night,  alone    and 
weary,  through  dark  muddy  lanes,  cheering  himself 
along  by  humming  the  prayer-meeting  refrains  which 
during  the  day  had  gladdened  the  hearts  of  returning 
sinners.     When  only  seventeen  he  was  promoted  to     4  i^^^j 
be  a  local  preacher,  and  two  years  later  his  superintend-   -f/^'^^/p^/! 
ent,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Dunn,  urged  him  to  offer  him-      '^<'"- 


n 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1849, 
Age  20. 

Called  to 
the  min- 
istry at 
nineteen. 


Wor- 
shipped 
Method- 
ism. 


Cared 
little  for 
creeds. 


Removes 

to 
London. 


self  for  the  ministry.  "I  objected,"  he  tells  us,  "on 
the  grounds  of  my  health  and  youth."  With  regard 
to  the  former,  Mr.  Dunn  sent  me  to  his  doctor,  who 
after  examination  pronounced  me  totally  unfit  for  the 
strain  of  a  Methodist  preacher's  life,  assuring  me  that 
twelve  months  of  it  would  land  me  in  the  grave,  and 
send  me  to  the  throne  of  God  to  receive  punishment 
for  suicide.  I  implored  him  not  to  give  any  such 
opinion  to  Mr,  Dunn,  as  my  whole  heart  was  set  on 
ultimately  becoming  a  minister.  He  therefore  prom- 
ised to  report  in  favour  of  the  question  being  de- 
layed for  twelve  months,  and  to  this  Mr.  Dunn  event- 
ually agreed." 

Referring  to  this  time,  Mr.  Booth  says:  "I  wor- 
shipped everything  that  bore  the  name  of  Methodist. 
To  me  there  was  one  God,  and  John  Wesley  was  his 
prophet.  I  had  devoured  the  story  of  his  life.  No 
human  compositions  seemed  to  me  to  be  comparable 
to  his  writings,  and  to  the  hymns  of  his  brother 
Charles,  and  all  that  was  wanted,  in  my  estimation,  for 
the  salvation  of  the  world  was  the  faithful  carrying 
into  practice  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  his  instruc- 
tions. 

"  I  cared  little  then  or  afterward  for  ecclesiastical 
creeds  or  forms.  What  I  wanted  to  see  was  an  or- 
ganization with  the  salvation  of  the  world  as  its  su- 
preme ambition  and  object,  worked  upon  the  simple, 
earnest  principles  which  I  had  myself  embraced,  and 
which,  youth  as  I  was,  I  had  already  seen  carried  into 
successful  practice." 

In  1849,  ^^-  Booth  removed  from  Nottingham  to 
London.  There  were  temporal  advantages  in  the 
change.  Nevertheless,  it  was  his  first  absence  from 
home  and  he  sorely  missed  his  mother,  by  whom  he 
was  idolised,  and  whose  affection  he  ardently  returned. 


WILLIAM  BOOTH. 


n 


"I  am  the  only  son  of  my  mother,  and  she  is  a 
widow,"  was  his  pathetic  introduction  of  himself  to  a 
Methodist  brother  who,  forty  years  later,  remembers 
the  very  tone  in  which  the  words  were  uttered.  His 
London  life  was,  moreover,  a  lonely  one.  He  missed 
the  association  of  the  earnest  young  men  in  whose 
company  he  had  laboured  since  his  conversion. 


1849, 
Age  20. 


"  How  are  you  going  on  ? "  He  writes  in  his  oldest  extant 
letter  dated  30th  October,  1849,  to  his  friend  John  Savage. 
"  I  know  you  are  happy.  I  know  you  are  living  to  God,  and 
working  for  Jesus.  Grasp  still  firmer  the  standard !  unfold 
still  wider  the  battle-flag !  Press  still  closer  on  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy,  and  mark  your  pathway  still  more  distinctly  with 
glorious  trophies  of  Emmanuel's  grace,  and  with  enduring 
monuments  of  Jesus'  power !  The  trumpet  has  given  the  sig- 
nal for  the  conflict !  Your  General  assures  you  of  success  and 
a  glorious  reward ;  your  crown  is  already  held  out !  Then  why 
delay!  Why  doubt  ?  Onward!  Onward!  Onward!  Christ 
for  me!  Be  that  your  motto — be  that  your  battle-cry — be 
that  your  war-note — be  that  your  consolation^be  that  your 
plea  when  asking  mercy  of  God — your  end  when  offering  it  to 
man — your  hope  when  encircled  by  darkness — your  triumph 
and  victory  when  attacked  and  overcome  by  death !  Christ 
for  me!  Tell  it  to  men,  who  are  living  and  dying  in  sin! 
Tell  it  to  Jesus,  that  you  have  chosen  Him  to  be  your  Saviour 
and  your  God.  Tell  it  to  devils,  and  bid  them  cease  to  harass, 
since  you  are  determined  to  die  for  the  truth ! 

"  I  preached  on  Sabbath  last — a  respectable  but  dull  and  life- 
less congregation.  Notwithstanding  I  had  liberty  both  pray- 
ing and  preaching,  I  had  not  the  assistance  of  a  single  'Amen' 
or  'Hallelujah'  the  whole  of  the  service!  It  is  hard  to  work, 
to  preach,  to  labour  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the  pulpit,  and 
then  come  down  and,  have  to  do  the  work  of  the  prayer- 
meeting  as  well!  I  want  some  Savages,  and  Proctors,  and 
Frosts,  and  Hoveys,  and  Robinsons,  here  with  me  in  the 
prayer-meetings,  and,  glory  to  God,  we  would  carry  all  be- 
fore us !  Praise  God  for  living  at  Nottingham  every  hour  you 
are  in  it !  Oh,  to  live  to  Christ  on  earth,  and  to  meet  you 
once  more,  never  to  part,  in  a  better  world!" 


The    Gen- 
eraVs 
earliest 
extant  let- 
ter. 


The  Army 
foreshad- 
owed. 


No 

Ainens! 


76 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1850, 
Age  21. 

His  plan 
of  cam- 
paign. 


His  early 
critics. 


Too  much 
of  the 
shrotid. 


Another 
letter. 


It  is  interesting  to  trace  thus  early  what  afterward 
came  to  be  a  distinguishing  feature  of  General  Booth's 
"plan  of  campaign,"  the  utilising  of  every  converted 
person  in  some  capacity,  as  distinguished  from  the 
parson-do-everything  system  which  he  here  so  strongly 
deprecates.  Nothing  perhaps  more  powerfully  char- 
acterises the  Salvation  Army  of  later  years  than  its 
"ministry  of  all  the  talents."  This  has  meant  noth- 
ing short  of  a  revolution  in  the  religious  world.  But 
we  should  hardly  have  expected  the  happy  discovery 
to  have  been  made  at  so  early  a  date. 

There  were  not  wanting,  however,  those  who  en- 
deavoured to  throw  cold  water  upon  his  vehement 
zeal.  "Young  man,"  said  one  of  these  critics,  "there 
is  too  imicJi  of  the  shroud  in  your  preaching."  Said 
others,  "You  are  not  sufficiently  argumentative. 
Your  sermons  do  not  display  sufficient  marks  of 
study!" 

How  disheartening  he  felt  their  remarks  to  be,  we 
learn  from  some  of  the  letters  written  to  his  friend, 
John  Savage. 

On  the  30th  of  March,  1850,  he  writes: 


"  Concerning  my  pulpit  efforts,  I  am  more  than  ever  dis- 
couraged. Upon  becoming  acquainted  with  my  congrega- 
tions, I  am  surprised  at  the  amount  of  intellect  which  I  have 
endeavoured  to  address.  I  am  waking  up  as  it  were  from  a 
dream,  and  discover  that  my  hopes  are  vanity,  and  that  I  lit- 
erally know  nothing." 


Aiming 
at  results. 


In  another  letter  he  writes  more  cheerfully: 

"  I  preached  twice  yesterday  at  Norwood — a  dear  people.  In 
the  morning,  I  trust,  'O  Lord,  revive  Thy  work,'  was  accom- 
panied with  blessing,  and  in  the  evening,  'Jesus  weeping  over 
Jerusalem,'  though  not  attended  with  pleasurable  feelings  to 
myself,  yet  I  hope  went  home  to  some  heart.  I  saw  7wthing 
done! 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  77 

"Afterwards  I  had  some  conversation  with  one  of  our  local  1850, 
preachers  respecting  the  subject  with  regard  to  which  my  ^Z^  ^i, 
heart  is  still  burning — I  mean  the  full  work.  He  advises  me 
by  all  means  to  offer  myself  next  March,  and  leave  it  in  the 
hands  of  God  and  the  Church.  What  say  you?  You  are  my 
friend,  the  chosen  of  my  companions,  the  man  after  my  own 
heart.  What  say  you  ?  I  want  to  be  a  devoted,  simple  and 
sincere  follower  of  the  Bleeding  Lamb.  I  do  not  desire  the 
pastor's  crust  without  having  most  distinctly  received  the 
pastor's  call.  And  yet  my  inmost  spirit  is  panting  for  the 
delightful  employment  of  telling  from  morn  till  eve,  from  eve 
to  midnight,  the  glad  tidings  that  mercy  is  free. 

"  Mercy !  Have  you  heard  the  word  ?  Have  you  felt  its  Mercv' 
power  ?  Mercy !  Can  you  describe  its  hidden,  unfathomable 
meaning  ?  Mercy !  Let  the  sound  be  borne  on  every  breeze ! 
Mercy !  Shout  it  the  world  around  until  there  is  not  a  sin- 
unpardoned,  a  pollution-spotted,  a  hell-marked  spirit,  un- 
washed, unsanctified !  until  there  is  not  a  sign  of  the  curse  in 
existence,  not  a  sorrow  unsoothed,  not  a  tear  unwiped  away ! 
until  the  world  is  flooded  with  salvation  and  all  men  are  bath- 
ing in  its  life-giving  streams !" 

What  are  we  to  think  of  the  inconceivable  blind- 
ness of  the  superintendent,  who  could  cold-bloodedly 
tell  the  fiery  young  evangelist,  when  he  proposed  to 
offer  himself  for  the  ministry,  that  "preachers  zvere  Preachers 
not  zvanted  by  the  Connexion !"  We  cannot  help  smil-  wanted. 
ing  as  we  find  William  Booth  writing  to  his  friend, 
that  he  was  seriously  thinking  of  tendering  his  services 
as  chaplain  to  a  convict-ship,  in  order  to  work  his  way 
out  to  Australia,  as  he  had  heard  that  it  was  easier  to 
enter  the  ministry  there  than  in  England.  He  adds 
touchingly : 

"  And  then  my  mother's  image  flits  across  my  mind!  You 
know  I  would  prefer  by  far  the  home-work.  But  the  difficul- 
ties are  so  great.  My  ability  is  not  equal  to  the  task. 
Preachers  are  not  wanted.  My  superintendent  told  me  so- 
And  to  go  to  quarter-day  and  not  succeed  would  break  my 
heart.     Were  my  talents  of  a  superior  nature,  were  my  at- 


78  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1851,       tainments  of  a  more  elevated  character,  and  my  education 
Age  22.     rnore  liberal  and  extensive,  then  might  I  calculate  with  some 
degree  of  certainty  on  passing  the  scrutiny  of  the  criticising 
leaders,  preachers,  and  trustees  of  the  London  fifth,  or  Lam- 
beth circuit." 

His  atti-        In    1 85  I,  the  Reform  movement  was  at  its  height. 

wa^ds\e  ^^^  the  character  which  the  agitation  had  assumed 

Kcform-  possessed  little  interest  for  William  Booth.  To  him 
the  all-absorbing  question  of  his  life  was  how  best  to 
reach  and  save  the  masses.  Certainly  he  had  shared 
the  universal  disappointment  at  the  banishment  of 
Mr.Caughey  from  Nottingham, when  the  revival  was  at 
its  very  height.  Himself  converted  only  a  few  months 
previously,  his  heart  fired  with  all  the  burning  en- 
thusiasm of  its  early  love,  he  could  not  understand 
the  motives  that  prompted  the  Conference  to  put  a 
stop  to  so  manifest  a  work  of  God.  Still,  like  others, 
he  had  bowed  to  the  decision,  and  had  accepted  what 
he  could  neither  hinder  nor  approve. 

The  Rev.        It  was  inevitable,  however,  that  he  should   be    in 

Samuel  1  j     •    i.  ^    j     •  „ 

Dunn,  some  measure  concerned  and  interested  m  a  move- 
ment which  involved  the  loss  of  nearly  one-third  of 
its  members  to  the  Wesleyan  Connexion.  Several  of 
his  personal  friends  were  among  those  who  seceded 
or  were  expelled,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Dunn,  who 
was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  agitation,  had  been  for 
three  years  his  own  superintendent  in  Nottingham, 
had  recognised  his  ability,  admired  his  zeal,  and  di- 
rected his  studies  for  the  ministry.  But  beyond  at- 
tending a  few  of  the  meetings  held  in  London  by  the 
Mr.  Booth  Reformers,  Mr.  Booth  held  studiously  aloof  from 
ahjof.  them,  neither  preaching  for  them  nor  in  any  way 
identifying  himself  with  them.  Nevertheless,  in 
the  society  to  which  he  belonged  there  were  already 
twenty-two  lay-preachers,  and  the  pulpit  work  to  be 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  79 

divided  among  them  was  so  trifling  as  to  afford  but      1851, 
little  scope  for  the  intense  activities  and  organizing      ^^  ^^' 
genius  which  already  fired  his  heart  and  brain.     Feel- 
ing that  his  time  would  be  better  spent  in  open-air 
work  in  the  streets  and  greens  of    Kennington,  he 
tendered  the  resignation  of  his  honorary  post,  request-    j^''-)'-^',^-] 
inef  at  the  same  time  that  his  name  mig^ht  be  retained  preaehcr- 
among  the  list  of  members. 

An  agitation  assuming  the  proportions  and  duration  is  sus- 
of  the  Reform  movement  could  hardly  fail  to  be  ■^^''^  ^"^ ' 
marked  by  incidents  of  a  regretable  character.  The 
entire  atmosphere  seemed  laden  with  doubt  and  sus- 
picion. Innocent  actions  were  misunderstood,  and 
inoffensive  words  misinterpreted.  Nor  would  it  be 
just  to  blame  the  Conference  for  the  over-zeal  dis- 
played by  some  of  their  well-meaning  but  too  hasty 
partisans.  To  uproot  a  field  of  wheat,  in  order  to  ex- 
tirpate an  occasional  tare,  is  a  temptation  to  which 
human  nature  has  been  ever  open. 

It  so  happened  that  the  minister  in  charge  of  Mr.  Ayui  ex- 
Booth's  circuit  was  of  an  uncompromising  heresy- 
hunting  disposition.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered 
at,  therefore,  that  he  viewed  with  suspicion  the  con- 
duct of  his  lay  assistant.  Making  sure  that  he  had 
discovered  once  more  the  cloven  hoof  of  the  Reform- 
ers, and  determined  to  purge  his  society  from  every 
trace  of  the  pernicious  taint,  he  withheld  the  usual 
ticket  of  membership,  and  thus  practically  expelled 
from  the  Wesleyan  body  the  most  talented  and  bril- 
liant Methodist  of  the  day.  Not  a  finger  was  lifted, 
not  an  effort  made,  not  a  protest  uttered,  not  a  syl- 
lable of  kindly  counsel  offered,  by  this  strangely 
infatuated  shepherd  of  the  flock,  who,  with  an  as- 
sumption of  infallibility  that  the  Pope  himself  could 
scarcely  have  rivalled,  wrapped  himself  in  the  cloak 


Xielled. 


8o 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1851, 
Age  22. 


The  Re- 
formers 
invite  him 
to  join 
them. 


His 
friend 
Mr.    Bab- 
bitts. 


A  promi- 
nent Re- 
former. 


Hears 

Mr. 
Booth^s 
first  ser- 
mon. 


of  his  ecclesiastical  dignity,  and  would  deign  no  fur- 
ther response  beyond  a  curt  letter  refusing  to  acqui- 
esce in  Mr.  Booth's  proposal. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  the  Reformers  heard  of 
this  unjustifiable  expulsion  than  they  passed  a  resolu- 
tion cordially  inviting  Mr.  Booth  to  join  their  ranks. 
The  suggestion  was  warmly  seconded  by  one  of  their 
leaders,  a  Mr.  Rabbitts,  who  had  almost  from  the 
time  of  his  first  arrival  in  London  entertained  a  warm 
affection  for  Mr.  Booth.  Mr.  Rabbitts  was  engaged 
in  the  boot  and  shoe  trade,  owning  three  or  four 
shops,  which  afterward  developed  into  an  enormous 
concern  with  its  headquarters  in  the  Borough.  He 
was  a  good  type  of  the  shrewd,  hard-headed,  pushing 
business  man,  combining  with  his  worldly  wisdom 
boundless  energy  and  a  deep  appreciation  for  true  re- 
liofion.  Himself  a  man  of  consistent  Christian  char- 
acter,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  show  his  colours  wher- 
ever he  went,  and  took  the  lead  in  every  good  work. 

When  the  agitation  arose,  Mr.  Rabbitts  embraced 
very  warmly  the  cause  of  the  Reformers.  He  had 
been  dissatisfied  for  some  time  with  what  he  consid- 
ered to  be  the  growing  coldness  and  worldliness  of 
the  Orthodox  party,  and  had  therefore  hailed  the 
present  movement  with  satisfaction,  believing  that  it 
would  lead  to  a  revival  of  the  old  life  and  fire. 

He  had  been  present  at  the  first  sermon  delivered 
by  Mr.  Booth  in  the  Walworth  Road  Wesleyan 
Chapel.  The  latter  had  launched  out  in  his  usual 
unconventional,  earnest  manner,  strikingly  in  contrast 
with  the  ordinary  ministerial  style.  Some  of  those 
present  responded  heartily,  and  the  ordinary  monot- 
ony of  the  service  was  disturbed  by  quite  a  brisk  fu- 
silade  of  "  Amens. "  Mr.  Rabbitts  was  delighted.  He 
met  the  preacher  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  congratu- 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  8i 

lated  him  warmly  on  his  sermon,  and  took  him  home      1851, 
to  dinner,  forming  on  the  spot  a  friendship  which       ^^ 
lasted  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

"Why   don't   you   become   a   minister?"  said  Mr.    A.xother 
Rabbitts,  as  they  walked  toward  his  house.     And  on    ministry. 
discovering  that  this  was  Mr.  Booth's  most  ardent  de- 
sire, he  promised  to  use  his  influence  among  the  Wes- 
leyan  ministers  in   London,  with  some  of  whom  he 
was  on  specially  intimate  terms. 

Various  obstacles  had,  however,  arisen,  which  had  Mr.  Booth 

.  .  joins  the 

prevented  the  realization  of  Mr.  Booth  s  intentions,  Reform- 
until  the  circumstances  just  described  combined  to 
cast  him  into  the  arms  of  the  Reformers.  It  was  in 
June,  185 1,  that  he  joined  them,  preaching  as  fre- 
quently as  he  was  able  to  do  without  relinquishing 
his  business,  and  enjoying  a  considerably  wider  scope 
for  his  energies  than  had  previously  been  possible. 

It  was  some  months  after  he  had  joined  the  Reform-    Preaches 
ers  that  Mr.  Booth  was  planned  to  preach  at  one  of     "'jieid' 
their  chapels  known  as  Binfield  House,  and  situated  in        °"*^' 
Binfield  Road,  Clapham.     It  was  a  nice    little    hall 
holding    some    two  or  three    hundred  people.     The 
services  were    arranged  on  the    ordinary   Wesleyan 
model,  and  were  conducted  in  turn  by  different  local 
preachers.     Of  this  congregation,  Mrs.  Mumford  and 
her  daughter  were  members,  and  it  was    here    that 
Catherine  led  the  Bible  class  already  referred  to. 

On  the  Sunday  that  Mr.  Booth  preached  she  was       Miss 
present,  and  although  he  was  a  perfect  stranger  to    criticises 
her,  she  was  very  much  impressed  with  him  at  first  preacher. 
sight.     The  sermon  was  from  the  text,  "This  is  in- 
deed the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  World."     It  so 
happened  that  during  the  following  week  Miss  Mum- 
ford  met  Mr.  Rabbitts,  whom  she  had  known  for  some 
time,  and  was  asked  by  him  for  her  opinion  of  the 
6 


82 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1851, 
Age  22. 


The    Gen- 
eral meets 

Miss 
Mumford 

at  Mr. 
Eabbitts'. 


The  tem- 
perance 
recital. 


preacher.  She  expressed  it  freely,  saying  that  she  con- 
sidered it  the  best  sermon  she  had  yet  heard  in  Binfield 
Hall.  Little  did  she  think,  however,  that  Mr.  Rabbitts, 
who  reckoned  her  one  of  the  ablest  judges  of  a  sermon 
in  London,  would  pass  it  on  to  the  preacher  himself. 

About  a  fortnight  afterward,  Mr.  Rabbitts  invited 
the  principal  Reformers  of  the  district  to  his  house 
for  afternoon  tea  and  conversation,  hoping  thus  to 
promote  a  spirit  of  love  and  unity  and  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  agitation.  Mrs.  and  Miss  Mumford 
were  among  the  guests,  and  so  was  Mr.  Booth.  The 
latter  came  in  late,  but  was  almost  immediately 
pounced  upon  by  the  host  to  recite  an  American  tem- 
perance piece,  which  he  had  heard  him  repeat  some 
days  previously.  Knowing  that  there  were  scarcely 
any  teetotallers  in  the  room,  Mr.  Booth  objected 
strongly,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  worth  while 
occupying  the  time  with  it,  when  other  important 
subjects  required  to  be  discussed,  adding  that  the 
theme  was  also  one  Avhich  might  disturb  the  harmony 
of  the  gathering.  However,  Mr.  Rabbitts  was  in- 
exorable and  would  accept  no  excuse.  He  must  and 
would  have  the  "Grogseller's  Dream,"  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  an  abstainer  himself  would,  he  was 
sure,  prevent  any  one  present  from  feeling  uncom- 
fortable. Amidst  earnest  attention  and  with  all  the 
dramatic  force  that  earned  for  him  a  little  later  the 
title  of  the  "John  Gough  of  England,"  Mr.  Booth  re- 
cited the  ballad.  We  give  it  as  quoted  from  his 
memory,  believing  it  will  be  of  interest : 


THE    GROGSELLER'S    DREAM. 

"A  grogseller  sat  by  his  bar-room  fire, 
His  feet  as  high  as  his  head  and  higher, 
Watching  the  smoke  as  he  puffed  it  out, 
Which  in  spiral  columns  curved  about, 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  83 

Veiling  his  face  'neath  its  fleecy  fold,  1851, 

As  lazily  up  from  his  lips  it  rolled,  Age  22. 

While  a  doubtful  scent  and  a  twilight  gloom 

Were  slowly  gathering  to  fill  the  room. 

To  their  drunken  slumbers,  one  by  one, 

Foolish  and  fuddled,  his  friends  had  gone. 

To  wake  in  the  morn  to  a  drunkard's  pain. 

With  bloodshot  eyes  and  a  reeling  brain. 

Drowsily  rang  the  watchman's  cry, 

'Past  two  o'clock  and  a  cloudy  sky!' 

But  our  host  sat  wakeful  still,  and  shook 

His  head  and  winked  with  a  knowing  look. 

'Aha, '  said  he,  in  a  chuckling  tone, 

'I  know  the  way  the  thing  is  done ! 

Twice  five  are  ten,  and  another  V, 

Two  ones,  two  twos,  and  a  ragged  three, 

Make  twenty-four  to  my  well-filled  fob — 

I  think  it  is  rather  a  good  night's  job  ! 

The  fools  have  guzzled  my  brandy  and  wine ! 

Much  good  may  it  do  them  !     The  cash  is  mine  T 

And  he  winked  again  with  a  knowing  look, 

As  from  his  cigar  the  ashes  he  shook. 

'There's  Gibson  has  murdered  his  child,  they  say — 

He  was  drunk  as  a  beast  here  the  other  day ! 

I  gave  him  a  hint,  as  I  went  to  fill 

His  jug.  but  the  brute  would  have  his  will. 

Then  folks  blame  me !     Why,  bless  their  souls, 

If  I  did  not  serve  him,  he'd  go  to  Coles' ! 

I've  a  mortgage  too,  on  Tomkinson's  lot, — 

What  a  fool  he  was  to  become  a  sot ! 

But  it's  luck  to  me !     In  a  month  or  so, 

I  shall  foreclose !  then  the  scamp  must  go ! 

Oh,  won't  his  wife  have  a  taking  on, 

When  she  hears  that  his  farm  and  his  lot  are  gone ! 

How  she  will  blubber  and  sob  and  sigh ! 

But  business  is  business,  and  what  care  I  ? 

Yet  I  hate  to  have  women  coming  to  me. 

With  their  tweedle-de-dum  and  their  tweedle-de-dee ; 

With  their  swollen  eyes  and  their  haggard  looks, 

And  their  speeches  learnt  from  Temperance  books, 

With  their  pale  lean  children — the  whimpering  fools, 

Why  don't  they  go  to  the  public  schools? 

I've  a  right  to  engage  in  a  lawful  trade, 

And  take  my  chance  where  there's  cash  to  be  made.' 

And  he  rubbed  his  hands  in  his  chuckling  glee. 

And  loudly  laughed,   'Aha !     Eehee  !  ' 


84  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1 85 1,  'Aha!     Eehee  !  '  'twas  an  echoed  sound! 

Age  22.  Amazed  the  grogseller  looked  around! 

'Aha!     Eehee!'  'twas  a  guttural  note, 
That  seemed  to  come  from  an  iron  throat ! 
And  his  knees  they  shook  and  his  hair  'gan  rise, 
And  he  opened  his  mouth  and  strained  his  eyes, 
And,  lo,  in  a  corner,  dark  and  dim. 
Stood  an  uncouth  form  with  aspect  grim  ! 
From  his  grizzly  head,  through  his  snaky  hair, 
There  sprouted  of  hard  rough  horns  a  pair ; 
Redly,  his  shaggy  brows  below. 
Like  sulphurous  flames  did  his  small  eyes  glow ; 
His  lips  they  were  curled  with  a  sinister  smile. 
And  the  smoke  belched  forth  from  his  mouth  the  while ! 
In  his  hand  he  bore,  if  a  hand  it  was. 
Whose  fingers  were  shaped  like  vulture's  claws, 
A  three-tined  fork,  and  its  prongs  so  dull 
Through  the  sockets  were  thrust  of  a  grinning  skull ! 
Gently  he  waved  it  to  and  fro. 
And  softly  chuckled,   '  Aha !  Oho  !  ' 
And  all  this  while  were  his  eyes,  that  burned 
Like  sulphurous  flames,  on  the  grogseller  turned ! 
And  how  did  he  feel  beneath  that  look? 
Why,  his  jaw  fell  down  and  he  shivered  and  shook, 
And  quivered  and  quaked  in  every  limb. 
As  though  the  ague  had  hold  of  him  ! 
And  his  eyes  to  the  monster  grim  were  glued, 
And  his  tongue  was  stiff  as  a  billet  of  wood ! 
'  Come,  come,'  said  the  Devil,   '  'tis  a  welcome  cold, 
That  you  give  to  a  friend  so  true  and  old ! 
Who  has  been  for  years  in  your  employ. 
Running  about  like  an  errand  boy ! 
But  we'll  not  fall  out,  for  I  plainly  see 
You  are  rather  afraid — 'tis  strange — of  mc  / 
Why,  what  do  you  fear,  my  friend?  '  he  said. 
And  he  nodded  the  horns  of  his  grizzly  head. 
'  Do  you  think  I've  come  iov you  ?    Never  fear! 
You  can't  be  spared  for  a  long  time  here  ! 
There  are  hearts  to  break,  there  are  souls  to  wir 
From  the  paths  of  peace  to  the  ways  of  sin  ! 
There  are  homes  to  be  rendered  desolate. 
There  is  trusting  love  to  be  changed  to  hate. 
Hands  that  murder  must  crimson  red — 
There  are  lives  to  wreck — there  is  blight  to  be  shed. 
O'er  the  young,  o'er  the  old,  o'er  the  pure  and  the  fair, 
Till  their  lives  are  crushed  by  the  fiend  Despair. 


WILLIAM  BOOTH.  85 

The  arm  that  shielded  a  wife  from  ill  igci 

In  its  drunken  rage  shall  be  raised  to  kill !  Age  22. 

Where'er  it  rolls,  that  fiery  flood, 

'Tis  swollen  with  tears,  'tis  stained  with  blood! 

Long  shall  it  be,  if  I  have  7ny  way, 

Ere  the  night  of  death  shall  close  your  day  ! 

For  to  pamper  your  lust  with  the  gold  and  pelf. 

You  rival  in  mischief  the  Devil  himself !  ' 

No  more  said  the  fiend,  for,  clear  and  high, 

Rang  out  on  the  air  the  watchman's  cry. 

With  a  stifled  sob  and  a  half-formed  scream 

The  grogseller  woke  !  It  was  all  a  dream. 

Solemn  and  thoughtful  his  bed  he  sought, 

And  long  on  that  midnight  vision  he  thought !  " 


The  recital  was  followed  by  an  awkward    pause,       m.ss 
which  was  broken  by  some  one  venturing  an  apology     fl^^aae 
on  behalf  of  moderate  drinking,  perhaps  as  an  excuse  ^t^^ '"' 
for  the  numerous  non-abstainers    present.     This  af- 
forded  Miss  Mumford    an    opportunity   for  replying, 
much  to  the  delight  of  Mr.  Rabbitts,  who  knew  and 
appreciated  her  conversational  and  debating  powers, 
and  who  enjoyed  hearing  her  demolish  her  opponent, 
even  when  the  lines  of  argument  happened  to  militate 
against  himself. 

From  subsequent  conversations  it  can  be  readily  The  Bible 
imagined  how  ably  Miss  Mumford  would  measure  ment' 
swords  with  her  opponent.  "The  Bible  permits  it," 
was  commonly  argued  by  the  defenders  of  the  mod- 
eration faith.  And  of  all  pretexts  used  by  those 
who  sought  to  bolster  up  the  nation's  curse,  this  was 
the  one  with  which  she  had  the  least  sympathy.  "  I 
think  you  are  mistaken,"  she  would  reply,  in  the 
silvery,  yet  emphatic  tones  with  which  she  commonly 
entered  into  such  debates.  "  I  have  not  so  read  and 
interpreted  my  Bible.  At  a  first  superficial  glance 
it  might  indeed  appear  so.  But  if  you  read  with  care, 
you  will  observe  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  wine  re- 


S6 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1851, 
Age  22. 


Making 
people 

sober  by 
Act  of 
Parlia- 
ment. 


The  Rev- 
enue. 


Chris- 
tians do 
it. 


The  teeto- 
tal sup- 
per. 


ferred  to  in  the  Bible,  one  intoxicating  and  the  other 
not.  The  former  is  generally  spoken  of  as  'strong 
drink,'  or  some  equivalent  term,  and  is  invariably 
coupled  with  language  of  condemnation,  never  used 
in  connexion  with  the  other." 

And  then  there  was  the  argument,  "but  you  cannot 
make  people  sober  by  Act  of  Parliament."  "I  am 
not  so  sure  about  that,"  she  would  reply;  "by  shut- 
ting up  the  liquor  dens,  you  can  certainly  minimise 
the  evil,  since  you  remove  the  temptation  from  those 
who  are  too  weak  to  resist  it.  What  is  there  to  pre- 
vent the  government  from  doing  this?  It  has  been 
done  in  some  places  with  the  best  possible  results. 
In  the  villages  and  districts  where  its  use  has  been 
prohibited,  drunkenness  is  comparatively  unknown, 
thus  proving  by  experience  that  people  can  be  made 
sober  by  Act  of  Parliament." 

" But  what  would  become  of  the  Revenue?"  have 
further  argued  her  objectors.  "Revenue!"  would 
Mrs,  Booth  reply;  "  What  would  become  of  a  man,  if 
he  were  to  suck  his  own  blood  and  eat  his  own  flesh? 
How  can  a  kingdom  flourish  that  lives  upon  the  de- 
struction of  its  subjects,  and  that  draws  its  revenues 
from  their  very  graves?" 

And  to  the  plea  that  plenty  of  excellent  Christians 
do  it  and  see  no  harm  in  it,  has  come  the  prompt  re- 
ply :  "  The  more  the  pity,  for  as  the  American  revival- 
ist, Mr.  Charles  Finney,  has  said,  it  would  be  almost 
as  easy  to  get  up  a  revival  in  Hell  itself  as  in  a  church 
whose  members  support  the  traffic,  and  some  at  least 
of  whom  may  well  be  supposed  to  be  the  slaves  of  the 
evil." 

But  supper  was  announced,  and  the  guests  ad- 
journed to  the  hospitable  table  of  their  host.  How 
far  the  company  were  convinced  by  the  recitation  and 


WILLIAM  BOOTH. 


87 


debate  to  which  they  had  listened,  we  cannot  tell, 
but  for  that  night  at  least  the  wine  offered  remained 
untasted,  and  water  was  the  favoured  drink. 

More  important  and  lasting-,'  however,  than  the  re- 
sult of  this ,  discussion  in  its  influence  on  the  future 
were  the  feelings  of  mutual  respect,  sympathy,  and 


1851, 
Age  22. 


Rev.  C.  G.   Finney,  D.D. 

admiration  that  it  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  Catherine 
Mumford  and  William  Booth.  Mr.  Rabbitts  had  un- 
consciously helped  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  union 
which  should  make  possible  the  fulfilment  of  his  most 
cherished  hopes,  and  which  should  gather  together 
and  resurrect  the  dry  bones,  with  which  he  saw  the 
religious  valley  to  be  so  full,  until  they  should  stand 
upon  their  feet,  "an  exceeding  great  army." 


An  un- 
foreseen 
result. 


The  Gen- 
eral's 
birthday. 


Becomes 
a  minis- 
ter. 


Again 
meets 
Miss 
Mum- 
ford. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT. 

The  loth  of  April,  1852,  was  a  memorable  day  in 
the  history  of  William  Booth.  It  was  his  birthday — 
the  day  on  which  he  finally  relinquished  business  for 
the  ministry,  and,  as  if  to  accentuate  the  significance 
of  the  sacrifice,  it  was  a  Good  Friday.  Finally  it  was 
on  this  day  that  the  respect  and  admiration  with 
which  he  regarded  Miss  Mumford  ripened  into  a  life- 
long love. 

He  was  now  practically  her  pastor.  The  Reformers 
had  accepted  him  as  their  preacher,  at  the  instance  of 
Mr.  Rabbitts,  who  had  undertaken  to  pay  him  his 
salary.  "  How  much  will  you  require?"  he  asked,  in 
broaching  the  question.  "Twelve  shillings  a  week 
will  keep  me  in  bread  and  cheese,"  responded  the  first 
Salvation  Army  Captain.  "  I  would  not  hear  of  such  a 
thing,"  replied  his  friend;  "you  must  take  at  least  a 
pound."  And  so,  with  this  modest  remuneration, 
Mr.  Booth  commenced  his  work  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  "  Passing  rich  on  fifty  pounds  a  year!" 

He  had  set  apart  the  day  to  visit  a  relative,  with  a 
view  to  interesting  him  in  his  new  career,  when  Mr. 
Rabbitts,  happening  to  meet  him,  carried  him  off  to 
a  service  held  by  the  Reformers  in  a  school-room  in 
Cowper  Street,  City  Road.  Catherine  was  present, 
and  the  casual  acquaintance  that  commenced  a  few 
weeks  previously  was  renewed,  Mr.  Booth  escorting 
her  home  when  the  meeting  was  over. 


THE  ENGAGEMENT. 


89 


Although  a  mutual  and  ardent  affection  sprang  up, 
which  deepened  on  each  succeeding  interview,  never- 
theless no  engagement  was  entered  into,  until  after 
the  most  thorough  and  prayerful  consideration.  In- 
deed, apart  from  the  love  and  admiration  which  each 
entertained  for  the  other,  the  prospects  were  by  no 
means  encouraging.  Mr.  Booth  had  left  behind 
him  the  business  career,  in  which  he  would  doubtless 
have  made  good  use  of  his  energy  and  organising 
abilities.  In  spite  of  flattering  offers  he  had  no  de- 
sire to  return  to  it.  His  whole  soul  was  aflame  for 
the  ministry.  But  for  this  he  imagined  that  he 
should  need  years  of  study  and  preparation.  The 
door  of  the  Wesleyan  Church  had  been  closed  against 
him.  The  post  he  held  among  the  Reformers  was 
temporary  and  unreliable,  and  each  week  increased 
his  dissatisfaction  with  their  discipline  and  mode  of 
government.  They  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  what 
they  looked  upon  as  a  tyrannical  priesthood,  but,  as  is 
often  the  case  with  human  nature,  the  pendulum  had 
now  swung  from  one  extreme  to  the  other.  Having 
first  disputed  the  authority  of  their  ordained  pastors, 
they  now  refused  to  acknowledge  that  of  those  whom 
they  had  themselves  appointed,  and  whom  they  were 
likewise  free  at  any  moment  to  discharge. 

This  was  no  doubt  a  capital  training  for  the  future 
General  of  the  Salvation  Army.  He  tasted  by  bitter 
experience  that  a  democratic  government  could  be  as 
tyrannical  as  a  paternally  despotic  one.  Under  the 
name  and  cloak  of  liberty,  he  found  himself  fettered 
hand  and  foot. 

As  a  body  the  Reformers  included  within  their 
ranks  many  of  the  best  and  noblest  spirits  in  Wes- 
leyan Methodism.  Nevertheless,  it  will  be  easily 
understood,  that  amid  the  turmoil  of  the  agitation  the 


1852, 
Age  23. 


An  ar- 
dent af- 
fection. 


Disaatis- 
fied  with 
the  Re- 
formers. 


Dem- 
ocratic 
despot- 
ism. 


A  fac- 
tious 
clique. 


90 


MUS.  BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23. 


Power 

vefited  in 

wrong 

hands. 


Uncer- 
tain fu- 
ture of 
the  Re- 
formers. 


The 

moderate 

party. 


more  turbulent  and  demagogic  cliaracters  pushed 
their  way  to  the  front.  This  was  particularly  the  case 
in  regard  to  the  little  group  with  whom  Mr.  Booth 
had  cast  in  his  lot,  and  whom  he  always  considered  as 
poorly  representing  the  movement  at  large. 

The  power  was  vested  in  those  who  did  not  know 
how  properly  to  use  it.  His  judgment  was  controlled 
and  his  plans  were  thwarted  by  people  who  were  too 
brainless  to  think,  too  timid  to  act,  or  too  destitute 
of  spirituality  to  appreciate  his  intense  passion  for 
souls.  This  he  was  sure  could  not  be  God's  plan  for 
leading  His  people  to  battle.  "Order  is  Heaven's 
first  law,"  became  henceforth  a  maxim  that  firmly 
embedded  itself  in  his  mind. 

Then  again  the  future  of  the  Reformers  was 
wrapped  in  uncertainty.  Their  original  intention 
was,  without  leaving  the  Wesleyan  body,  to  organise 
themselves  as  a  radical  democratic  party,  a  sort  of 
constitutional  opposition  of  a  parliamentarian  char- 
acter. For  a  time  they  were  content  to  be  in  a  mi- 
nority. Ultimately  they  believed  their  views  would 
prevail.  But  the  action  of  the  Conference,  in  expel- 
ling them  wholesale  from  the  ranks  of  the  Connexion, 
had  forced  them  to  reconsider  the  question.  Some 
were  for  returning  to  the  mother-church.  These 
formed  an  influential  party  of  reconciliation,  who 
endeavoured  this  very  year  (1852)  to  approach  the 
orthodox  portion  of  the  society,  and  obtain  some 
moderate  concessions,  which  would  enable  them  to 
return.  But  the  Conference  were  inflexible,  refus- 
ing to  receive  the  deputation  that  was  sent  to  wait  on 
them.  The  memorial  was  certainly  read,  but  the 
answer  sent  denied  the  allegations  made,  and  re- 
jected the  prayer  of  the  petitioners. 

A  large  number,  however,  among  the    Reformers 


THE  ENGAGEMENT. 


91 


were  opposed  to  mediation,  and  preferred  to  be  or- 
ganised into  a  separate  church,  whilst  others  desired 
to  cast  in  their  lot  with  some  of  the  more  liberal 
Methodist  denominations,  which  were  waiting  to  re- 
ceive them  with  open  arms. 

With  such  divided  counsels,  the  future  of  the  Re- 
formers could  not  but  be  uncertain,  and  so  far  as 
study  for  the  duties  of  a  regular  ministry  was  con- 
cerned it  might  be  necessary  to  wait  for  years  before 
the  organisation  had  sufficiently  developed  to  make 
this  possible. 

Mr.  Booth  doubted  whether,  with  prospects  so  un- 
satisfactory, he  should  be  justified  in  allowing  Miss 
Mumford  to  enter  into  any  engagement.  Some  of 
the  letters  that  were  exchanged  are  so  interesting, 
and  the  spirit  manifested  so  exemplary,  that  we  can- 
not do  better  than  refer  to  them.  The  earliest  is 
dated  iith  May,  1852,  when  the  question  of  the  en- 
gagement was  still  undecided : 


1852, 
Age  23. 

Divided 
counsels. 


Her  first 
love- 
letter. 


"  My  Dear  Friend  : — I  have  been  spreading  your  letter  be- 
fore the  Lord,  and  earnestly  pleading  for  a  manifestation  of 
His  will  to  your  mind.  And  now  I  would  say  a  few  words  of 
comfort  and  encouragement. 

"  If  you  wish  to  avoid  giving  me  pain,  don't  condemn  your- 
self. I  feel  sure  God  does  not  condemn  you,  and  if  you  could 
look  into  my  heart  you  would  see  how  far  I  am  from  such  a 
feeling.  Don't  pore  over  the  past !  Let  it  all  go!  Your  de- 
sire is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  He  will  guide  you.  Never 
mind  who  frowns,  if  God  smiles. 

"The  words  'gloom,  melancholy,  and  despair,'  lacerate  my 
heart.  Don't  give  way  to  such  feelings  for  a  moment.  God 
loves  you.  He  will  sustain  you.  The  thought  that  I  should 
increase  your  perplexity  and  cause  you  any  suffering,  is  al- 
most intolerable.  I  am  tempted  to  wish  that  we  had  never 
seen  each  other !  Do  try  to  forget  me,  as  far  as  the  remem- 
brance would  injure  your  usefulness  or  spoil  your  peace.  If 
I  have  no  alternative  but  to  oppose  the  will  of  God,  or  tram- 


Seeking 
to  do 
God^s 
will. 


92 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  2Z. 


Taking 
counsel 
of  God. 


pie  on  the  desolations  of  my  own  heart,  7Hy  choice  is  made ! 
'Thy  will  be  done! '  is  my  constant  cry.  I  care  not  for  my- 
self, but  oh,  if  I  cause  you  to  err,  I  shall  never  be  happy  again  !  " 

In  the  same  letter  she  adds : 

"  It  is  very  trying  to  be  depreciated  and  slighted  when  you 
are  acting  from  the  purest  motives.  But  consider  the  char- 
acter of  those  who  thus  treat  you,  and  dont  overestimate  t/ieir 
influence.  You  have  some  true  friends  in  the  circuit,  and 
what  is  better  than  all,  you  have  a  Friend  above,  whose  love 
is  as  great  as  His  power.  He  can  open  your  way  to  another 
sphere  of  usefixlness,  greater  than  you  now  conceive  of." 

Little  did  the  writer  think  how  prophetic  was  this 
last  sentence.  How  immeasurable  would  have  been 
their  surprise  had  the  veil  been  lifted  for  a  moment, 
and  a  glance  into  the  distant  future  permitted  to 
the  two  doubt-bestricken,  fear-beleaguered  lovers,  so 
anxious  to  do  right,  and  to  obey  the  dictates  of  their 
enlightened  consciences,  rather  than  to  follow  the 
unbridled  clamourings  of  their  hearts.  In  looking 
back  we  see  the  mighty  issues  that  were  then  at  stake, 
and  all  around  are  spread  the  fruit  unto  eternity  of 
that  sanctified  resolution.  Well  would  it  be  for 
thousands  if  they  paused  similarly  to  take  counsel  of 
God,  before  committing  themselves  to  any  decision 
in  so  momentous  a  matter. 

Two  days  later  Miss  Mumford  writes  again : 


Never 
mind  the 
circum- 
stances. 


"  My  Dear  Friend  : — I  have  read  and  re-read  your  note, 
and  fear  you  did  not  fully  understand  my  difficulty.  It  was 
fiot  circumstances.  I  thought  I  had  fully  satisfied  you  on  that 
point.  I  thought  I  had  assured  you  that  a  bright  prospect 
could  not  allure  me  nor  a  dark  one  affright  me,  if  we  are 
only  one  in  /leart.  My  difficulty,  my  only  reason  for  wishing 
to  defer  the  engagement,  was  that  you  might  feel  satisfied  in 
your  own  mind  that  the  step  is  right.  I  dare  not  enter  into 
so  solemn  an  engagement  until  you  can  assure  me  that  you 


THE  ENGAGEMENT. 


93 


feel  I  am  in  every  way  suited  to  make  you  happy,  and  that 
you  are  satisfied  that  the  step  is  not  opposed  to  the  will  of 
God.  If  you  are  convinced  on  this  point,  irrespective  of  cir- 
cumstances, let  circumstances  go,  and  let  us  be  one,  come 
what  may ;  and  let  us  on  Saturday  evening,  on  our  knees  be 
fore  God,  give  ourselves  afresh  to  Him  and  to  each  other. 
When  this  is  done,  what  have  we  to  do  with  the  future  ?  We 
and  all  our  concerns  are  in  His  hands,  under  His  all-wise  and 
gracious  Providence. 

"  Again  I  commend  you  to  Him.      It  cannot,  shall  not  be 
that  you  shall  make  a  mistake.     Let  us  besiege  His  Throne 
with  all  the  powers  of  prayer,  and  believe  me, 
"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Catherine." 

And  so  on  that  Sabbath  eve,  the  15th  May,  1852, 
reason  gave  its  sanction,  and  conscience  set  its  seal, 
to  an  engagement  which  was  fraught  with  results 
that  eternity  will  alone  reveal.  In  the  dim  twilight 
of  that  summer  day  the  twin  foundation  stones  were 
laid  of  a  living  temple  more  blessed  and  beautiful 
than  that  which  crowned  the  summit  of  Moriah — a 
temple  whose  precious  stones  and  costly  timbers  were 
to  be  hewn  without  hands  in  the  depths  of  darkest 
fetishism,  in  the  jungles  of  hopeless  heathendom, 
and  in  the  civilised  and  educated,  but  beweaponed 
and  submerged  mass  of  nihilism,  socialism,  and  des- 
potism, which  calls  itself  Christianity — a  temple 
which  was  to  be  finally  fitted  and  framed  into  one 
harmonious,  glorious,  imperishable  whole,  without 
sound  of  axe  or  hammer,  by  the  heavenly  craftsmen, 
as  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  an 
eternal  monument  of  the  wonder-working  hand  of 
its  divine  Architect. 

The  following  letter,  written  a  few  days  subse- 
quently, might  almost  have  been  penned  by  a  Han- 
nah or  Mar}^  when  rejoicing  over  their  answered 
prayers,  and  deserves  to  be  embalmed  in  memory: 


1852, 
Age  23, 


The 
engage- 
ment. 


A  second 
magnif- 
icat. 


94 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23. 


A  glad  re- 
sponse. 


The  high- 
est earth- 
ly bliss. 


A  mark 
of  disci- 
pleship. 


Bursting 

the 
bubbles. 


"  My  Dearest  William  : — The  evening  is  beautifully  serene 
and  tranquil,  according  sweetly  with  the  feelings  of  my  soul. 
The  whirlwind  is  past,  and  the  succeeding  calrh  is  propor- 
tionate to  its  violence.  Your  letter — your  visit  have  hushed 
its  last  murmurs  and  stilled  every  vibration  of  my  throbbing 
heart-strings.  All  is  well.  I  feel  it  is  right,  and  I  praise  God 
for  the  satisfying  conviction. 

"  Most  gladly  does  my  soul  respond  to  your  invitation  to 
give  myself  afresh  to  Him,  and  to  strive  to  link  myself  closer 
to  you,  by  rising  more  into  the  likeness  of  my  Lord.  The 
nearer  our  assimilation  to  Jesus,  the  more  perfect  and 
heavenly  our  union.  Our  hearts  are  now  indeed  one,  so  one 
that  division  would  be  more  bitter  than  death.  But  I  am  satis- 
fied that  our  union  may  become,  if  not  more  complete,  more 
Divine,  and  consequently  capable  of  yielding  a  larger  amount 
of  pure,  unmingled  bliss. 

"  The  thought  of  walking  through  life  perfectly  united,  to- 
gether enjoying  its  sunshine  and  battling  with  its  storms,  by 
softest  sympathy  sharing  every  smile  and  every  tear,  and  with 
thorough  unanimity  performing  all  its  momentous  duties,  is 
to  me  exquisite  happiness;  the  highest  earthly  bliss  I  desire. 
And  who  can  estimate  the  glory  to  God  and  the  benefit  to 
man,  accruing  from  a  life  spent  in  such  harmonious  effort  to 
do  His  will  ?  Such  unions,  alas,  are  so  rare,  that  we  seldom 
see  an  exemplification  of  the  Divine  idea  of  marriage. 

"  If  indeed  we  are  the  disciples  of  Christ,  'in  the  world  we 
shall  have  tribulation ;  '  but  in  Him  and  in  each  other  we  may 
have  peace.  If  God  chastises  us  by  affliction,  in  either  mind, 
body,  or  circumstances,  it  will  only  be  a  mark  of  our  disci- 
pleship ;  and  if  borne  equally  by  us  both,  the  blow  will  not 
only  be  softened,  but  sanctified,  and  we  shall  be  enabled  to 
rejoice  that  we  are  permitted  to  drain  the  bitter  cup  together. 
Satisfied  that  in  our  souls  there  flows  a  deep  undercurrent  of 
pure  affection,  we  will  seek  grace  to  bear  with  the  bubbles 
which  may  rise  on  the  surface,  or  wisdom  so  to  bi:rst  them  as 
to  increase  the  depth,  and  accelerate  the  onward  flow  of  the 
pure  stream  of  love,  till  it  reaches  the  river  which  proceeds 
out  of  the  Throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  and  mingles  in 
glorious  harmony  with  the  love  of  Heaven. 

"  The  more  you  lead  me  up  to  Christ  in  all  things,  the  more 
highly  shall  I  esteem  you ;  and  if  it  be   possible  to  love  you 


THE  ENGAGEMENT. 


95 


more  than  I  now  do,  the   more  shall  I  love  you.     You  are       1852 
always  present  in  my  thoughts.  Age  23. 

"  Believe  me,  dear  William,  as    ever, 

"  Your  own  loving 

"  Kate." 

One  more  letter  we  are  tempted  to  quote : 


"  22d  May,  1852. 

"  My  Dear  William  : — I  ought  to  be  happy  after  enjoying 
your  company  all  the  evening.  But  now  you  are  gone  and 
I  am  alone,  I  feel  a  regret  consonant  with  the  height  of  my 
enjoyment.  How  wide  the  difference  between  heavenly  and 
earthly  joys!  The  former  satiate  the  soul  and  reproduce 
themselves.  The  latter,  after  planting  in  our  soul  the  seeds 
of  future  griefs  and  cares,  take  their  flight  and  leave  an  ach- 
ing void. 

"  How  wisely  God  has  apportioned  our  cup !  He  does  not 
give  us  all  sweetness,  lest  we  should  rest  satisfied  with  earth ; 
nor  all  bitterness,  lest  we  grow  weary  and  disgusted  with  our 
lot.  But  He  wisely  mixes  the  two,  so  that  if  we  drink  the  one, 
we  must  also  taste  the  other.  And  perhaps  a  time  is  coming 
when  we  shall  see  that  the  proportions  of  this  cup  of  human 
joy  and  sorrow  are  more  equally  adjusted  than  we  now  im- 
agine— that  souls  capable  of  enjoyments  above  the  vulgar 
crowd,  can  also  feel  sorrow  in  comparison  with  which  theirs 
is  but  like  the  passing  April  cloud  in  contrast  with  the  long 
Egyptian  night. 

"  How  wise  an  ordination  this  is,  we  cannot  now  discover. 
It  will  require  the  light  which  streams  from  the  Eternal 
Throne  to  reveal  to  us  the  blessed  effects  of  having  the  sen- 
tence of  death  written  on  all  our  earthly  enjoyments.  I  often 
anticipate  the  glorious  employment  of  investigating  the  mys- 
terious workings  of  Divine  Providence.  Oh,  may  it  be  our 
happy  lot  to  assist  each  other  in  these  heavenly  researches  in 
that  pure  bright  world  above ! 

"  But  I  have  rambled  from  what  I  was  about  to  write.  I 
find  that  the  pleasure  connected  with  pure,  holy,  sanctified 
love,  forms  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  The  very  fact 
of  loving  invests  the  being  beloved  with  a  thousand  causes  of 
care  and  anxiety,  which,  if  unloved,  would  never  exist.  At 
least  I  find  it  so.     You  have  caused  me  more  real  anxiety 


The  iihil- 

osophij  of 

earthly 

joys. 


The  ca- 
pacity to 
enjoy  is 

the  ca- 
pacity to 

suffer. 


96  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1852,       than  any  other  earthly  object   ever  did.     Do  yon  ask  why? 
Age  2^.     I  have  already  supplied  you  with  an  answer !  " 

After  referring  to  some  domestic  matters  she  gives 
an  interesting  glimpse  behind  the  scenes  at  the  con- 
clusion of  her  letter: 


Don't  sit         "Don't  sit  up  singing  till  twelve   o'clock,  after  a   hard  day's 
up  sing-     work.     Such  things  are  not  required  by  either  God  or  man, 
and  remember  you  are  not  your  own. 
"  I  remain,  dear  William, 

"  Yours  in  truth  and  the  love  of  Jesus, 

"  Catherine." 

The  reference  to  the  General  as  a  young  man  of 
twenty-three,  after  a  hard  day's  v^ork  sitting  up  sing- 
ing till  midnight  is  one  of  those  unmeant  life-touches, 
which  vivify  the  picture  of  the  past,  reminding  one 
of  the  painter  who  in  despair  flung  his  sponge  at  the 
canvas  intending  to  obliterate  the  scene,  but  producing 
by  the  merest  accident  the  very  effect  which  his  ut- 
most effort  had  failed  to  secure.  The  incident  serves 
as  a  side-light  to  a  life — an  'Var  homo''  to  the  leader, 
who  was  to  girdle  the  earth  with  a  belt  of  song, 
till,  to  use  the  expression  of  a  recent  church  divine, 
the  Salvation  Arm}^  had  sung  its  way  round  the  world. 
The  Among  the  sacred  resorts  of  Indian  pilgrims  is  All- 

of  two  ahabad,  the  so-called  "  City  of  God."  Here  the  waters 
of  the  Jumna  embosom  themselves  in  those  of  the 
Ganges,  and  the  united  streams  wend  their  fertilising 
course  through  the  rich  plains  of  Bengal.  Each  bank 
is  studded  with  countless  villages,  while  at  various 
points  arise  crowded  and  thriving  cities,  the  teeming 
population  depending  largely  for  their  subsistence 
upon  the  river,  whose  volume  of  waters,  undiminished 
by  the  prodigious  demands,  rolls  onward  to  the  ocean. 
Even  such  was  to  be  the  issue  of  the  blending  of 


streams. 


i 


THE  ENGAGEMENT.  97 

these  two  life-currents  in  a  single  channel,  which  was  1852, 
thenceforth  to  become  a  source  and  centre  of  increas-  ^^  ^^' 
ing  spiritual  blessing,  extending  to  generations  yet 
unborn,  and  the  sum  total  of  which  eternity  will  alone 
reveal.  In  seeking  first  "the  Kingdom  of  God,"  the 
all  things  promised  were  indeed  superabundantly 
added,  and  Miss  Mumford  was  able  to  write: 

"  As  far  as  earthly  happiness  is  concerned,  I  never  knew  so 
much  as  now.  I  have  just  spent  an  hour  or  two  of  the  purest 
earthly  bliss  I  ever  enjoyed.  Had  I  never  drunk  so  co- 
piously at  the  fountain,  I  might  be  in  danger  of  resting  satis- 
fied with  the  streams.  But  I  bless  the  Lord,  He  has  made 
it  impossible  for  me  to  be  made  satisfied  with  anything  short 
of  a  complete  union  and  constant  communion  with  Himself. 
Oh  that  we  may  know  the  bliss  of  being  fully  one  with  God 
(John  xiv.  20)." 
7 


CHAPTER  X. 

CONGREGATIONALISM.      1852. 


Perplex- 
ing con- 
trover- 
sies. 


The 

fettered 
bulbul. 


Proposal 

to  join  the 

Congre- 

gational- 

ists . 


Miss  Mumford  viewed  without  dismay  the  doc- 
trinal and  controversial  labyrinths  through  which  Mr. 
Booth  had  now  to  pass.  The  clue  once  grasped,  she 
helped  him  to  follow  the  thread  through  all  the  per- 
plexing mazes,  which  seemed  so  hopelessly  entangled. 
The  doors  they  would  have  entered  seemed  persist- 
ently blocked.  Orthodox  Wesleyanism  was  too  re- 
spectable. The  Reformers  were  too  unsettled  for 
him  to  contemplate  making  a  permanent  home  among 
them.  What  with  committees  and  votes,  resolutions 
and  amendments,  every  one  wanting  to  lead  and  no- 
body willing  to  follow,  like  the  Indian  bulbul,  tied  by 
an  invisible  thread,  he  could  only  flutter  from  finger 
to  finger  of  his  many-fingered  master,  and  view  with 
chagrin  the  tantalising  heaps  of  grain  that  lay  just 
beyond  his  reach. 

Miss  Mumford  threw  her  whole  heart  into  the  ques- 
tion. She  realised  that  Mr.  Booth  possessed  abilities 
of  no  ordinary  description.  She  was  convinced  that 
he  only  needed  a  suitable  opportunity  for  his  genius 
to  assert  itself,  and  that,  providing  he  had  fair  play, 
he  would  soon  rise  to  a  level  that  was  impossible  for 
the  mediocrities  who  surrounded  him,  and  who  only 
maintained  their  superiority  by  suppressing  or  decap- 
itating those  whose  gifts  or  graces  eclipsed  their  own. 

A  possible  way  of  deliverance  at  length  suggested 
itself  to  her.     There  was  near  her  home  a  large  Con- 


CONGREGATIONALISM.  99 

gregational   cliapel,  which  she    frequently   attended.  1852, 

Its  talented  pastor,  the  Rev.  David  Thomas,  was  an       ^^  ^^' 

able  preacher,  whose  intellectual  and  powerful  ser-       Dr. 

mons  she  very  much  relished.      Might  it  not  be  that  ^'"'"'''^• 

among  this  people  the  longed-for  sphere  of  usefulness 

was  to  be  discovered  ?     Certainly  the  attempt  seemed 

worth  making.      "  I  argued,"  she  afterward  said,  "  that  ^  modest 

OAnhition, 
with  them.  William  would  be  able  to  make  a  church 

after  his  own  heart,  introducing  such  methods  and 
agencies  as  he  might  think  likely  to  be  useful.  I 
could  not  see  why  he  should  not  combine  all  that  was 
precious  to  him  in  Methodism  with  the  liberty  of  the 
Independents,  to  whom  my  early  studies  in  church  his- 
tory had  somewhat  inclined  me." 

But  the  effort,  though  spread  over  several  months,  Dr. 
beginning  in  July  and  lasting  till  October,  proved  "'"■''  '^ 
ultimately  abortive.  True,  Mr.  Booth  was  most 
kindly  received  by  Dr.  Campbell,  an  influential  min- 
ister of  the  denomination  in  London,  pastor  of  one  of 
its  principal  churches,  and  editor  of  several  religious 
papers. 

"  I  was  not  very  sanguine  as  to  the  result  of  this       Mr. 
visit,"  says  Mr.  Booth.      "A  friend  had  informed  me    first  fn- 
before  that  the  doctor  was  a  busy  man,  and  that  his    ^•^'''"'^*"- 
usage  was  always  to  speak  to  strangers  in  the  lobby, 
in  order  to  get  them  off  as  quickly  as  possible.     True 
to  his  custom,  the  doctor  came  out  to  me,  but  after  a 
few  sentences  he  took  me  into  his  room.     Pointing 
to  a  chair,  he  said,  'Sit  down  and  tell  me  your  story,' 
and  after  listening  to  it  volunteered  the  opinion:  'I     ",^f/^,^ 
like  you,  and  believe  the    Congregational  church  is 
just  the  place  for  you.     You  will  make  your  way  in 
it,  and  I  will  help  you  all  I  can. '     I  asked  him  whether 
my  views  as  to  the  universal  love  of  God  would  be 
any  hindrance  to  my  acceptance  and  success.     To  this 


yoM. 


lOO 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23. 

The  doc- 
trinal 
difficulty. 


Letter  to 

Dr. 
Campbell. 


Dr.  Mas- 
sey  dis- 
courages 
the  Gen- 
eral from 
entering 
the  min- 
istry. 


he  replied:  'No,  you  will  not  be  troubled  on  that 
score.  Go  to  college,  study  your  Bible,  and  then 
come  out  and  preach  whatever  doctrine  you  honestly 
believe  you  find  there.'  The  doctor  then  gave  me  an 
introduction  to  some  other  ministers  whom  he  thought 
likely  to  help  me,  and  shook  me  affectionately  by  the 
hand  as  I  rose  to  leave." 

The  result  of  the  interviews  which  followed  we 
learn  from  a  letter  to  Dr.  Campbell  written  a  few 
days  later : 

"  25th  June,  1852. 
"  Reverend  Sir  : — 

"  The    kind    reception    with    which,    although    a  perfect 
stranger,  you  favoured  me,  the  counsel  you  gave,  and  your 
request  that  I  should  either  call  or  write  a  fortnight  from  that 
hour,  is    the  excuse  1   offer  for  again  intruding  upon  your 
notice.    Among  other  things  you  wished  me,  too,  again  to  see 
the  Rev.  W.  Leask  of  Kennington,  which  I  accordingly  did, 
stating  that  I  had  seen  you.     He  told  me  that  if  I  went  to  see 
Mr.  Edwards  of  the  New  Chapel,  City  Road,  he  would  be  able 
to  give  me  all  the  information  I  needed  respecting  the  Train- 
ing Institution  at  Cotton  End.     I  therefore  called  upon  the 
Rev.    W.    S.   Edwards,   who   received   me   very   kindly   and 
directed  me  to  Dr.  Massey  at  the  office  of  the  Home  Mission- 
ary Society,   saying  that  he  would  tell  me  all  I  wished  to 
know.     From  the  latter  I  received,  that  which  is  nothing  new 
to  me,  some  discouraging  information.     His  advice  was  to 
the  following  effect:  'You  had  better  go  back  to  business  for 
about  two  years,  unite  yourself  with  an  Independent  church, 
sit  under  an    intellectual   minister,   and   then  through  that 
church  offer  yourself   to  the   society.'     Dr.  Massey  further 
stated  'the  almost  impossibility  of  my  procuring  admission 
into  the  college,  because  of  there  being  now  more  candidates 
than  vacancies.' 

"  With  this  counsel  I  cannot  see  my  way  clear  to  comply. 
To  wait  in  uncertainty  for  one  or  two  years,  and  then,  after 
that,  to  be  two  or  three  years  longer  in  training,  ere  I  could 
settle  down  to  a  sphere  of  labour,  is  not  in  accordance  with 
my  feelings  or  hopes.     But  even  this,  should  I  see  it  to  be 


CONG  REG  A  TIONALISM.  I O I 

the  path  my  Father  points  out,  I  am  willing  to  walk  therein.       1852, 
All  I  can  do  now  is  to  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God.     ■^S^  23. 

"  Perhaps  the  ministry  is  not  my  way.  He  may  have  an- 
other work  for  me  to  do.  My  prayer,  my  constant  prayer  is,  Booth's 
'Teach  me  Thy  will,  and  bow  my  own  in  submission  to  it.'  fears. 
My  only  fear  is,  that  I  have  not  sufficient  ability  to  be  a  suc- 
cessful minister,  or  otherwise  I  would  push  the  thing  to  its 
utmost  issue.  I  fear  reaching  a  position  which  I  should  not 
be  able  usefully  to  sustain.  I  fear  having  formed  an  erroneous 
estimate  of  myself,  my  capacities  and  powers,  and  I  tremble 
at  the  consequences.  But  the  God  whom  I  serve,  and  whose 
I  am,  lives  to  direct,  and  in  I/im  I  put  my  trust,  and  on  I/im 
I  only  lean. 

"  I  thank  you  with  the  gratitude  of  a  sincere  heart  for  your 
kindness  in  giving  me  the  direction  you  deem  most  judicious, 
and  which  must  have  occupied  a  portion  of  your  time,  which 
I  know  to  be  so  valuable. 

"  I  trust  that  God  will  make  you  more  than  ever  useful  in 
diffusing  light  and  truth  and  the  knowledge  of  salvation  in 
our  poor  dying  world,  and  praying  for  the  blessing  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  upon  your  labours, 

"  I  remain,  reverend  sir,  yours  sincerely, 

"William  Booth." 

Rev.  J.  Campbell,  D.  D. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Massey  referred  to  in  this  letter  was    The  Cot- 
Secretary  to  the  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  Con-     insuul- 
gregational  Union,  which  had  a  Training  Institution       ''""■ 
at  Cotton  End.     Here  Mr.  Booth  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve he  would  have  the  advantage  of  some  months' 
study,  without  being  obliged  to  spend  three  or  four 
years   at   the    dead    languages    and    without    going 
through  the  ordinary  ministerial  curriculum,  which, 
he  feared,  would  be  more  likely  to  hamper  than  help 
him  in  his  work  of  saving  souls. 

Backed  up  by  Dr.  Campbell  and  other  influential  Mr.  Booth 
members  of  the  Union,  and  above  all  encouraged  by     ^Zel, 
Miss  Mumford,  Mr.  Booth  persevered  in  his  efforts  to 
enter  the  institution. 


i02 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23, 

States  his 
difficul- 
ties, 

Is  ac- 
cepted. 

Expected 
to  change 

his 
opinions. 


Consults 
Miss 
Mum- 
ford. 


Her  view 
of  the 
matter. 


He  frankly  stated  to  the  examining  committee  his 
difficulty  regarding  the  doctrine  of  election.  In  spite 
of  this,  however,  owing  no  doubt  to  Dr.  Campbell's 
influence,  he  w^as  finally  accepted,  and  was  to  start 
for  the  Cotton  End  college  the  following  day. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  told  that  no  such  excep- 
tion had  previously  been  made,  and  the  committee 
expressed  their  conviction  that  at  the  expiration  of 
six  months'  study  he  would  be  able  to  conform  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  body,  recommending  him  two  rather 
noted  volumes  on  the  controversy — Booth's  "Reign 
of  Grace,"  and  Payne  on  "Divine  Sovereignty." 

This  was  so  different  to  what  Dr.  Campbell  had  led 
him  to  believe,  that  Mr.  Booth  was  tempted  to  settle 
the  question  on  the  spot  and  to  inform  the  committee 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  accept  their  nomina- 
tion on  such  an  understanding.  However,  he  curbed 
his  impetuosity,  and  hurried  home  to  tell  Miss  Mum- 
ford  what  had  transpired,  and  to  seek  with  her  Divine 
guidance.  From  the  time  he  first  knew  her,  Mr. 
Booth  had  learned  to  place  great  reliance  in  her 
sound  judgment,  and  to  the  end  of  her  life  he  em- 
barked on  no  important  enterprise,  nor  struck  out  on 
any  new  path,  without  consulting  her,  and  enjoying 
the  full  benefit  of  her  statesmanlike  and  far-reaching 
mental  instinct. 

Miss  Mumford  rose  to  the  occasion.  Indeed,  like 
a  well-built  vessel  in  a  storm,  these  life  tornadoes 
only  served  to  call  into  play  the  innate  capacities  of 
her  soul.  Moreover,  she  took  a  more  hopeful  view 
of  the  case  than  Mr.  Booth  was  inclined  to  do.  It 
seemed  evident  to  her,  from  what  Dr.  Campbell  and 
others  had  said,  that  the  committee  did  not  fairly  rep- 
resent the  feelings  of  the  Union.  There  was,  at 
least,  an  important  and  influential  section  of  the  body 


CONGREGATIONALISM.  103 

who,  if  they  did  not  exactly  agree  with  Mr.  Booth's      1852, 
views,  would  at  any  rate  leave  him  free  to  think  and      ^^  ^^' 
act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.     Never- 
theless, she  trembled  lest  she  should  influence  him 
in  the  wrong  direction.      Fearing  that  anxiety  for  her 
future  well-being  might  influence  him,  she  besought 
him  to  exclude  her  from  his  considerations,  and  to 
decide  as  he  would  have  done  had  he  not  known  her. 
"Don't  think,"  she  said,  "I  shall  be  disappointed  or  Urgeshim 
dissatisfied,  if  you  settle  against  the  college.     I  prom-    Ms^con- 
ise  you  it  will  not  cause  me  one  hour's  uneasiness,  and    ^^*^'^^^- 
should  it  be  afterward  necessary,  I  will  exert  all  my 
ingenuity  and  influence  to  smooth  and  comfort  your 
mind  under  any  misgivings  as  to  the  judiciousness 
of  the  step,  whatever  path  the  Providence  of  God  may 
open  before  you.     All  my  energies  shall  be  thrown 
into  it,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  I  will  be  a  help-meet 
for  you.     So  long  as  you  are  useful  and  happy,  I  shall 
be  satisfied  under  any  circumstances." 

On  his  way  home,    Mr.  Booth  had  bought  one  of  He  studies 

111  1  "'^  Reign 

the  books  recommended  to  him  by  the   committee,  of  Grace. 
This  he  now  opened  with  no  ordinary  interest  and 
curiosity,  but  he  had  not  read  many  pages  before  he 
flung  the  book  across  the  room,  saying  that  he  never  FUm/sthe 
could  acquiesce  in  the  doctrines  which  it  set  forth,      away. 
and  that  it  would  be  a  mere  waste  of  time  for  him  to 
attempt  to  do  so. 

The  more  honourable  and  straightforward  course 
seemed  to  be  to  write  to  the  committee  and  tell  them 
plainly  that  he  could  not  accept  the  nomination, 
coupled  as  it  was  with  an  understanding,  or  condition, 
to  which  his  heart  would  not  consent. 

"How    can    I    go   to   an   institution,"    he  argued,   Abandons 
"where  I  shall  be  obliged  to  study  such  books  and  proposal. 
expected  to  accept  such  doctrines?     At  present  I  am 


I04  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1852,  free.  I  am  under  no  obligations  to  the  committee. 
^^  ^^*  I  can  hold  what  opinions  I  like.  But  when  once  I 
have  received  their  favours,  I  shall  feel  as  if  I  were 
morally  bound  to  accept  their  teachings.  It  is  one 
thing  to  forsake  Methodism.  It  is  quite  another  to 
abandon  a  doctrine,  which  I  look  upon  as  a  cardinal 
point  in  Christ's  redemption  plan — His  universal 
love,  and  the  possibility  of  all  being  saved  who  will 
avail  themselves  of  His  mercy." 

And  so  the  question  was  then  and  there  settled, 
and  the  letter  written,  which  closed  the  ports  of  this 
hoped-for  haven  against  the  storm-bound  boat,  leav- 
ing it  to  drift  for  a  time  in  mid-ocean,  till  after  varied 
experiences  of  tempest  and  calm  it  should  at  length 
ride  at  anchor  in  a  harbour  of  its  own. 
A  fHend-       Qod  had  Something  vastly  more  important  in  store 

/y  part-  c:>  j  l 

ing.  for  William  Booth  and  Catherine  Mumford  than  the 
pastoral  care  of  an  Independent  church,  to  which  they 
were  then  aspiring  as  the  ideal  of  a  useful  life.  Never- 
theless, the  parting  was  a  friendly  one,  and  it  was  a 
little  remarkable  that  thirty-six  years  later  Catherine 
Booth  closed  her  public  career,  and  delivered  her  last 
address,  in  perhaps  the  leading  Congregational  tem- 
ple of  the  world.  The  "  I  like  you"  of  Dr.  Campbell 
in  1852  was  repeated  by  Dr.  Parker  in  1888,  in  fare- 
welling  from  the  public  stage  to  higher  spheres  of 
usefulness  the  greatest  woman  minister  of  the  age. 
It  has  fitl)'-  represented  the  attitude  of  the  Union  to 
the  organisation  which  Mrs.  Booth  mothered  and  in 
the  history  of  which  she  played  so  prominent  a  part. 
Another  While  this  controversy  was  still  going  on  un- 
^lion.'  decided,  Mr„  Booth  received  a  warm  invitation  to 
assist  Dro  Ferguson  of  Ryde,  with  the  ultimate  possi- 
bility of  succeeding  him  as  pastor  of  his  congregation. 
The  offer  was,  however,  declined.     But  the  following 


CONGREGA  TIONALISM.  I O  5 

letter,  written  to  Miss  Mumford  on  the  28th  July,  and      1852, 
referring  to  both  the  questions,  will  be  read  with  in-       ^^ 
terest : 

"  My  own  dear  Catherine: — 

"  I  have  just  received  a  letter  (three  sheets  of  note-paper) 
from  my  friend  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  He  says  very  plainly 
that  he  cannot  give  me  up,  and  prays  me  to  reconsider  the 
determination  expressed  in  my  last.  He  calls  upon  me  by 
all  that  is  sacred  not  to  go  to  be  whitewashed  at  college,  but  P^^^'i,  ^-'^ 
to  go  to  Ryde,  where,  as  he  says,  I  shall  have  superior  oppor- 
tunities for  mental  and  moral  training. 

"  While  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to  alter  my  views  in  regard 
to  the  position  I  should  have  to  fill  at  Ryde,  or  even  to  recon- 
sider my  decision  upon  the  subject,  still  I  must  say  this  im- 
portunity considerably  adds  to  my  perplexity.  He  looks  upon 
our  meeting  as  strictly  providential.  He  beseeches  me  not  to 
go  to  college.  I  give  you  a  quotation:  'We  have  a  college 
ministry  already,  and  what  are  they  doing  in  reference  to  the 
salvation  of  souls?  Their  college  whitewash  is  only  garnish- 
ing, the  sepulchre  of  dead  souls.  We  want  a  quickening, 
soul-saving  ministry,  affectionately  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
consciences  and  hearts  of  sinners.'  Again  he  says:  'Here 
is  the  place  for  your  social,  and  I  believe  loving,  heart  to  ex- 
pand and  quicken.  Don't  go  to  college.  Your  thoughts  were 
directed  here.  The  experience  of  thousands  of  students  says, 
'Don't  go  to  college.'  Their  theology  has  become  stereo- 
typed— their  social  and  moral  nature  has  lost  its  vigour  and 
power,  while  immured  within  the  college  walls. '  What  say 
you  to  the  matter?  I  hope  you  are  not  making  yourself  un- 
happy. This  is  my  reason  for  writing.  I  am  not  miserable; 
do  not  fear  that.  I  prayed  earnestly  all  the  way  home  last 
night  for  guidance.  I  believe  it  will  be  given.  I  am  reading 
Finney  and  Watson  on  election  and  final  perseverance,  and  I 
see  more  than  ever  reason  to  cling  to  my  own  views  of  truth 
and  righteousness." 

These  negotiations  appear  to  have  fallen  through, 
simultaneously  with  the  arrangement  to  enter  the 
Cotton  End  Institution,  and  Mr.  Booth  was  again  left 


lo6  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1852,      in  uncertainty.     Although  he  had   given   away   his 

^^  ^^'    last  sixpence  to  a  poor  girl  dying  of  consumption, 

Giving     yet  the  conviction  that  his  decision  was  a  conscientious 

^lastsix-^  one,  involving  as  it  did  the  sacrifice  of  his    almost 

pence,      accomplished  ambition,  filled  him  with  satisfaction. 

Nor  was  Miss  Mumford  one  to  repine  over  the  past. 

Cheerfully  they  faced  the  doubtful  future,  waiting  on 

God  to  reveal  what  should  be  their   course.     They 

were  not  left  long  in  doubt. 


i 


CHAPTER  XL 
SPALDING,— LONDON.     1852. 
The  determined  attitude  of  the  Wesleyan  Confer-       The 

Spa  Id  in  fj 

ence — their  open  declaration  of  war  with  the    mal-    Reform- 


ers. 


contents — their  refusal  to  accept  the  advances  made 
during  this  year  by  the  would-be  mediators,  and  the 
evident  hopelessness  of  any  prospective  reconciliation, 
compelled  the  Reformers  to  look  elsewhere  for  minis- 
ters. This  was  at  least  the  predicament  in  which 
the  Spalding  circuit  had  found  itself  placed.  It  was 
a  country  district,  some  thirty  miles  in  extent,  grouped 
round  the  town  after  which  it  had  been  named.  Here 
the  Conference  had  hitherto  possessed  a  flourishing 
cause,  but  the  cream  of  the  laity  had  gone  over  to 
the  Reformers,  who  had  now  struggled  on  some  time 
without  a  minister. 

Finding  themselves  unable  to  make  satisfactory  pro-    They  in- 
gress, they  wrote  to  the  central  committee  for  a  pastor.     Booth.' 
who  should  organise  and  superintend  their  scattered 
congregations.      Mr.  Booth    was    invited    to    fill   the 
post.     This  appeared  to  be  a  call  from  God,  and  in  it 
we  can    undoubtedly  trace    a    Providential    purpose. 
Hitherto  his  labours  had  been  confined  to  large  cities, 
which   certainly    furnished    an    admirable    training- 
ground  and  scope  for  effort.     Nevertheless,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  over-estimate  the  value  of  the  experi- 
ence gained  by  fifteen  months  of  active  toil  in  a  coun-     circuit!' 
try  district.     The  proportion  of  the  world's  population 
which  is    "cabined,  cribbed,  confined"  in    towns    is, 

107 


io8 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23. 

A  useful 
experi- 
ence. 


Studies 
post- 
poned. 


The  invi- 
tation ac- 
cepted. 


A    hearty 
reception. 


after  all,  comparatively  small.  The  vast  majority  are 
still  settled  on  the  land.  It  was  as  important  that 
Mr.  Booth  should  understand  by  personal  experience 
their  modes  of  living  and  habits  of  thought,  as  it  was 
that  he  should  explore  the  miserable  recesses  of  slum- 
dom  and  familiarise  himself  with  all  the  phases  of 
city  life. 

It  was  reported  that  the  Spalding  Reformers  were 
more  docile  and  amenable  to  discipline  than  the  little 
knot  with  which  Mr.  Booth  had  associated  in  London. 
He  would  doubtless,  therefore,  have  more  liberty  of 
action,  and  among  the  unconventional  country  peo- 
ple there  appeared  to  him  a  better  prospect  for  an 
ingathering  of  souls. 

On  the  other  hand  Miss  Mumford  argued  that  it 
would  entail  a  further  postponement  of  the  prepar- 
ation which  seemed  so  necessary  for  a  ministerial 
career,  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  Reformers  made 
it  doubtful  whether  the  goal  of  ordination  could  be 
reached  within  a  reasonable  time.  Moreover,  it  in- 
volved a  separation  from  which  they  mutually  shrank. 
The  ready  access  for  communion  and  counsel,  which 
London  afforded,  had  been  especially  prized,  and  they 
could  not  but  view  the  prospect  of  forfeiting  it  with 
reluctance. 

Mr.  Booth,  however,  was  so  wearied  with  the  in- 
activity of  the  past  few  months,  that  it  certainly  ap- 
peared worth  while  to  give  the  new  sphere  a  trial, 
and  to  judge  on  the  spot  what  probability  there 
might  be  for  harmonious  and  successful  effort. 
Hence,  after  united  and  earnest  prayer,  it  was  decided 
to  accept  the  invitation  to  the  Spalding  circuit. 

It  was  the  end  of  November,  1852,  when,  the 
preliminary  negotiations  being  completed,  he  started 
for  his  new  field  of  labour.     That  he  was  agreeably 


SPALDING,  —L  ONDOM.  1 09 

surprised  and  much  gratified  with  his  reception    is      1852, 
evident  in  the  following  extracts  from  his  letters  to       ^^  ^^* 
Miss  Mumford : 

"  My  reception  has  been  beyond  my  highest  anticipations. 
Indeed  my  hopes  have  risen  fifty  per  cent,  that  this  circuit 
will  be  unto  me  all  that  I  want  or  need. 

"  1  do  think  it  was  the  hand  of  God  that  brought  me  here. 
The  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest.  The  friends  are  ex- 
tremely affectionate,  and  I  believe  that  many  precious  souls 
will  be  gathered  in  unto  God.  I  had  a  good  day  yesterday. 
The  people  were  highly  satisfied,  and  I  trust  benefited. 

"  I  know  how  pleased  you  will  be  when  I  tell  you  how  kind 
all  are  to  me.  The  best  they  have  is  at  my  service.  The 
most  talented,  the  most  respectable,  and  the  most  holy  men 
in  the  circuit,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  are  on  our  side,  and 
wherever  I  go,  I  am  welcomed. 

"On   Sunday   I   preached  at   Holbeach    from   the  'faithful 

saying. '     It  went  well.     The  people  wept^ — an  excellent  con-     T',^^  P*^*^- 
■  r^  ,       ,  i      -,     ,  pl^   toept. 

gregation.       Strong    men    were    completely    melted    down. 

It  was  a  good   time   to  my    soul.       In    the    afternoon    Mr. 

Hardy  wished  me  to  preach  for  him  at  Thet  Fen — a  small 

low  house  I  could  hardly  stand  upright  in,  but  two  rooms 

were  full  of  precious  souls — fifty  I  should  think,  and  I  stood 

in  the  door-way  and  told  how  ready  Jesus  was  to  save  to  the 

uttermost  all  who  came  unto  God  by  Him.     At  night  we  were 

full  at  Holbeach.     I  preached  from  Blind  Bartimeus;  some 

little  liberty.     Four  souls  cried  for  mercy." 

The  letters  abound  with  the  deepest  sentiments  of 
affection : 

"  I  have  brought  with  me  to  Spalding  a  far  better  likeness       Better 
than  the  daguerreotype — namely,  your  image  stamped  upon     '^"'i^  ^^^ 
my  soul.     I  press  the  dear  outline  of  your  features  to  my      otype. 
lips  and  yearn  for  the  original  to  press  to  my  heart.     Heaven 
smile  upon  thee,  my  dearest  love." 

To  these  letters  Miss  Mumford  responded  cor- 
dially, at  the  same  time  sending  the  most  practical 
advice,  and  entering  with  keenest  interest  into  all  the 
details  of  his  life  and  work.     She  writes: 


no  MJiS.   BOOTH. 

1852,  "  It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  the  minutiae  of  your 

Age  23.  proceedings,  and  of  the  prosperity  and  extension  of  Reform 
principles  in  the  circuit.  I  wish  Mr.  Hubbard  and  his  coad- 
jutors [Conference  preachers  from  Boston]  would  stay  at  home 
and  let  you  have  it  all  your  own  way,  as  I  know  you  like  that. 
But  perhaps  we  ought  rather  to  rejoice  that  Christ  is  preached 
even  of  contention.  At  all  events  I  don't  think  Mr.  Hubbard 
will  do  the  people  much  harm.  He  has  not  sufficient  talent 
to  enrapture  them  with  very  eloquent  eulogiums  of  Confer- 
ence. And  as  to  his  spirit,  unless  very  much  altered,  I  dare 
almost  venture  my  salvation  on  its  Christlike  character.  I 
am  very  sorry  and  surprised  that  he  does  not  come  out  on  the 
side  of  Reform.  But  we  must  judge  charitably. 
Hoio  to  "  I  perceive,  my  love,  by  your  remarks  on  the  services  you 
preach,  j^^yg  held,  that  you  enjoy  less  liberty,  when  preaching  in  the 
larger  places  before  the  best  congregations,  than  in  the  smaller 
ones.  I  am  sorry  for  this,  and  am  persuaded  it  is  the  fear  of 
man  which  shackles  you.  Do  not  give  place  to  this  feeling. 
Remember  you  are  t/ie  Lord's  servant,  and  if  you  are  a 
faithful  one,  it  will  be  a  small  matter  with  you  to  be  judged 
of  man's  judgment.  Let  nothing  be  wanting  beforehand  to 
make  your  sermons  acceptable,  but  when  in  the  pulpit  try  to 
lose  sight  of  their  worth  or  worthlessness,  so  far  as  composi- 
tion is  concerned.  Think  only  of  their  bearing  on  the  destiny 
of  those  before  you,  and  of  your  own  responsibility  to  Him 
who  hath  sent  you  to  declare  His  gospel.  Pray  for  the  wisdom 
which  winneth  souls,  and  never  mind  what  impression  the 
preacher  makes,  if  the  ivord  preached  takes  effect.  May  the 
Lord  bless  you,  my  dearest  love,  and  fit  you  to  be  His  in- 
strument in  saving  others  without  its  entailing  any  harm  to 
your  own  soul." 

In  another  letter  she  says : 

"  I  was  very  pleased  to  hear  you  were  going  to  read  Mr. 
Fletcher's  life.  I  hope  you  will  always  keep  some  stirring 
biography  on  the  read.  It  is  most  profitable. 
How  to  "  I  am  much  encouraged  by  the  accounts  of  your  prospects 
get  on.  -^^  ^-^^  circuit,  and  have  no  fear  about  you  suiting  the  people 
providing  your  heart  is  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  and  your 
head  stored  with  Scripture  truth  and  useftil  knowledge.  As 
a   preacher  I  am   sure  you  have  nothing  to  fear.     With  a 


SPALDING, —L  OND  ON. 


1 1 1 


reasonable    amount  of    study,    you   are   bound  to   succeed.       1852, 
Whereas,  if  you  give  place  to  fear  about  your  ability,  it  will     -^S^  23. 
hamper  you  and  make  you  appear  to  great  disadvantage. 

"  Try  and  cast  off  the  fear  of  man.  Fix  your  eye  simply  on 
the  glory  of  God,  and  care  not  for  the  frown  or  praise  of  man. 
Rest  not  till  your  soul  is  fully  alive  to  God. 

"  You  may  justly  consider  me  inadequate  to  advise  you  in  Apolo- 
spiritual  matters.  After  living  at  so  great  a  distance  from  God  adviling. 
myself,  I  feel  it  deeply — I  feel  as  though  I  could  lay  myself 
at  the  feet  of  any  of  the  Lord's  faithful  followers,  covered 
with  speechless  shame  for  my  unfaithfulness.  But  so  great 
is  my  anxiety  for  your  soul's  prosperity,  that  I  cannot  for- 
bear to  say  a  word  sometimes,  even  though  realizing  that  I 
need  your  advice  far  more  than  you  need  mine." 


A  favor- 
ite air. 


A  few  days  later  she  writes : 

"  The  post-boy  is  just  going  past,  singing  that  tune  you 
liked  so,  'Why  did  my  master  sell  me?'  [a  secular  air  to  which 
Mr.  Booth  had  adapted  spiritual  words.]  He  frequently  passes 
my  window  humming  it,  and  somehow  it  brings  such  a  shade 
over  my  heart,  making  me  realize  my  loneliness,  now  that 
I  hear  you  sing  it  no  longer ! 

"  I  have  felt  it  very  good  to  draw  nigh  unto  God.  Oh  to 
live  in  the  spirit  of  prayer!  I  feel  it  is  the  secret  of  real  re- 
ligion, the  mainspring  of  all  usefulness.  In  no  frame  does 
the  soul  so  copiously  receive  and  so  radiantly  reflect  the  rays 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  as  in  this !" 

The  social  qualities  of  the  young  preacher,  from  His  early 
the  very  first,  found  him  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the    ^^^^uy^^^ 
people.      His  intense  zeal  was  coupled  with  shrewd 
common  sense,  and  his  ultra-pietism  was  totally  de- 
void of  unnatural  sanctimony.      He  had  no  patience  for 
the  religious  stilts  which,  while  they  appear  to  elevate 
a  minister  from  the  level  of  his  surroundings,  fetter 
his  liberty  and  retard  his  speed,  substituting  an  ar- 
tificial superiority  for  that  of  spiritual  life  and  power.    - 
Mr.  Booth  made  himself  as  much  at  home  among  the 
pigs  and  poultry  of  his  farmer  audiences,  as  in  their 


112 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  2Z. 


Miss 
Mum- 
ford  re- 
joices at 
his  recep- 
tion. 


The  dan- 
gers of 
popular- 
ity, 


And  of 
misdirect- 
ed ambi- 
tion. 


Fix  it  on 
the  throne 

of  the 
Eternal. 


No  re- 
proofs, 
but 
cautions. 


parlours  or  the  pulpit.     Hence  he  became  a  universal 
favourite,  and  the  object  of  kindly  attention  and  flat- 
tering appreciation  from  all  classes  alike. 
In  referring-  to  this  Miss  Mumford  writes: 

"  My  heart  swells  with  gratitude  and  praise  to  God  for  His 
goodness  in  granting  you  such  an  auspicious  commencement 
to  your  labours,  and  in  opening  the  hearts  of  so  many  friends 
to  receive  and  treat  you  kindly.     To  Mr.  Hardy  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Congreve  I  would  say : 

■  Friends  of  my  friend,  I  love  you,  though  unknown, 
And  boldly  call  you,  being  /n's,  my  own. ' 

"  And  yet  I  rejoice  with  trembling.  I  know  how  dangerous 
such  attentions  would  be  to  a  heart  even  less  susceptible  of 
its  influence  than  yours.  While  a  particle  of  the  carnal  mind 
remained  I  feel  how  dangerous  it  would  be  to  me.  And  it  fills 
me  with  tenderest  anxiety  for  your  spiritual  safety.  You 
have  special  need  for  watchfulness  and  for  much  private  in- 
tercourse with  God. 

"  My  dearest  love,  beware  how  you  indulge  that  dangerous 
element  of  character,  ambition.  Misdirected,  it  will  be  ever- 
lasting ruin  to  yourself  and  perhaps  to  me  also.  O  my  love, 
let  nothing  earthly  excite  it,  let  not  self-aggrandisement  fire 
it.  Fix  it  on  the  Throne  of  the  Eternal,  and  let  it  find  the 
realization  of  its  loftiest  aspirations  in  the  promotion  of  His 
glory,  and  it  shall  be  consummated  with  the  richest  enjoy- 
ments and  brightest  glories  of  God's  own  Heaven.  Those 
that  honour  Him  He  will  honour,  and  to  them  who  thus  seek 
His  glory,  will  He  give  to  rule  over  the  nations,  and  even  to 
judge  angels,  who  through  a  per-vcrtcd  ambition,  the  exaltation 
of  self  instead  of  God,  have  fallen  from  their  allegiance  and 
overcast  their  eternity  with  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever. 

"  I  feel  your  danger.  I  could  write  sheets  on  the  subject, 
but  my  full  soul  shall  pour  out  its  desires  to  that  God  Who 
has  promised  to  supply  all  your  need.  In  my  estimation 
faithfulness  is  an  indispensable  ingredient  of  all  true  friend- 
ship. How  much  more  of  a  love  like  mine:  You  say 'Re- 
prove— advise  me  as  you  think  necessary !'  I  have  no  reproofs, 
my  dearest,  but  I  have  cautions,  and  I  know  you  will  con- 
sider them." 


SPALDING,  — Z  OND  ON.  1 1 3 

Miss  Mumford's  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  question      1852, 
of  study  is  expressed  in  the  following  passage :  ^^  ^^' 

"  Do  assure  me,  my  own  dear  William,  that  no  lack  of  energy  Urges 
or  effort  on  your  part  shall  hinder  the  improvement  of  those  *^^*"1/' 
talents  God  has  intrusted  to  you,  and  which  he  holds  you 
responsible  to  improve  to  the  uttermost.  Your  duty  to  God, 
to  His  Church,  to  me,  to  yourself,  demands  as  much.  If  you 
really  see  no  prospect  of  studying,  then  I  think,  in  the  highest 
interests  of  the  future,  you  ought  not  to  stay. 

"  I  have  been  revolving  in  my  mind  all  day  which  will  be  How  to 
your  wisest  plan  under  present  circumstances,  and  it  appears  ^'^  ^^' 
to  ine  that  as  you  are  obliged  to  preach  nearly  every  evening 
and  at  places  so  wide  apart,  it  will  be  better  to  do  as  the 
friends  advise,  and  stop  all  night  where  you  preach.  Do  not 
attempt  to  walk  long  distances  after  the  meetings.  With  a 
little  management  and  a  good  deal  of  determination,  I  think 
you  might  accomplish  even  more  that  way  as  to  study,  than 
by  going  home  each  night.  Could  you  not  provide  yourself 
with  a  small  leather  bag  or  case,  large  enough  to  hold  your 
Bible  and  any  other  book  you  might  require — pens,  ink, 
paper,  and  a  candle  ?  And  presuming  that  you  generally  have 
a  room  to  yourself,  could  you  not  rise  by  six  o'clock  every 
morning,  and  convert  your  bedroom  into  a  study  till  breakfast 
time?  After  breakfast  and  family  devotion  could  you  not 
again  retire  to  your  room  and  determinedly  apply  yourself 
till  dinner  time?  Then  start  on  your  journey  to  your  evening's 
appointment,  get  there  for  a  comfortable  tea  and  do  the  same 
again!  I  hope,  my  dearest  love,  you  will  consider  this  plan, 
and  adhere  to  it,  if  possible,  as  a.  general  practice,  admitting  a 
few  exceptions  which  circumstances  may  occasion.  Don't  let 
little  difficulties  prevent  its  adoption.  I  am  aware  you  would 
labour  under  many  disadvantages,  but  once  get  the  habit  of 
abstracting  your  mind  from  your  surroundings  and  it  will  be- 
come easy.  Do  not  be  over-anxious  about  the  future. 
^"paldin^  7vill  not  be  your  final  destination,  if  you  make  the  best 
of  your  ability." 

Referring  to  her  Sunday-school  work  she  says :  „ 

"  At  Sunday-school  I  felt  sadly  annoyed  and  grieved  at  the   sehooTex- 
injudicious  use   made   of  time  and  opportunity  which  might  periences. 


114 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1852, 
Age  23. 


Access  to 
God. 


have  been  husbanded  for  so  much  good.  It  is  a  great  trial  for 
me  to  go.  But  I  don't  feel  as  though  I  could  give  it  up  at 
present.  They  are  all  very  anxious  for  me  to  remain,  the 
class  refusing  to  be  taught  by  others.  Perhaps  after  all,  I 
may  be  more  useful  there  than  in  a  better  regulated  school. 
If  I  did  not  hope  so,  I  would  not  endure  the  mortification  of 
another  Sunday." 

Subsequently  she  writes  more  cheerfully : 

"  This  afternoon,  when  with  my  class,  I  enjoyed  a  season  of 
sensible  access  to  God.  Oh,  how  sweet !  Like  a  sudden  burst 
of  morning  sunshine  in  a  tempestuous  night !  I  felt  as  if  self 
were  sinking,  expiring,  and  for  the  moment  the  glory  of  God 
only  seemed  to  engage  and  rivet  the  eye  of  my  soul.  Need  I 
tell  you  that  I  had  special  liberty  and  pleasure  in  speaking  to 
the  children?" 

The  letters  contain  constant  allusions  to  the  tem- 
perance question: 

Drink  "  I  hope  you  don't  forget,"  she  writes,  "  to  wage  war  with  the 

tobacco,  drinking  customs.  Be  out-and-out  on  that  subject.  I  am  glad 
Mr.  Shadford  is  a  teetotaler.  I  hope  he  is  also  anti-tobacco  and 
snuff." 

And  when  in  a  subsequent  letter  Mr.  Booth  men- 
tioned that  he  had  been  urged  by  some  doctor  to  take 
port  wine,  she  replies: 


Port  wine 

as  a 
medicine. 


"  I  need  not  say  how  willing,  nay,  how  anxious,  I  am,  that 
you  should  have  anything  and  everything  which  would  tend 
to  promote  your  health  and  happiness.  But  so  thoroughly  am 
I  convinced  that  port  wine  would  do  neither,  that  I  should 
hear  of  your  taking  it  with  unfeigned  grief.  You  must  not 
listen,  my  love,  to  the  advice  of  every  one  claiming  to  be  ex- 
perienced. Persons  really  experienced  and  judicious  in  many 
things,  not  unfrequently  entertain  notions  the  most  fallacious 
on  this  subject.  I  have  had  it  recommended  to  me  scores  of 
times  by  these  individuals.  But  such  recommendations  have 
always  gone  for  nothing,  because  I  have  felt  that,  however 
much  my  superiors  such  persons  might  be  in  other  respects,  on 
this  subject  I  was  the  best  informed.     I  have  even  argued  the 


SPALDING,  — Z  ONDON. 


115 


point  with  Mr.  Stevens  [her  doctor],  and  have,  I  am  sure, 
completely  set  him  fast  for  arguments  to  defend  alcohol  even 
as  a  medicine.  I  am  fully  and  for  ever  settled  on  the  physical 
side  of  the  question.  I  believe  you  are  on  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious, but  I  have  not  thought  you  were  on  the  physical. 
Now,  my  love,  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  save  you 
from  being  influenced  by  other  people's  false  notions,  that 
you  should  have  a  settled,  intelligent  conviction  on  the  sub- 
ject. And  in  order  that  you  may  get  this,  I  have  been  to  the 
trouble  of  unpacking  your  box  in  order  to  send  you  a  book,  in 
which  you  will  find  several  green  marks  and  pencillings.  I 
do  hope  you  will  read  it,  even  if  you  sit  up  an  hour  later 
every  night  till  you  have  done  so,  and  I  would  not  advise  this 
for  anything  less  important. 

"  It  is  a  subject  on  which  I  am  most  anxious  you  should  be 
thorough.  I  abominate  that  hackneyed  but  monstrously  in- 
consistent tale — a  teetotaler  in  principle,  but  obliged  to  take 
a  little  for  my  'stomach's  sake!'  Such  teetotalers  aid  the  pro- 
gress of  intemperance  more  than  all  the  drunkards  in  the 
land !  And  there  are  sadly  too  many  of  them  among  minis- 
ters. The  fact  is  notorious,  and  doubtless  the  fault  is  chiefly 
with  the  people,  who  foolishly  consider  it  a  kindness  to  'put 
the  bottle  to  their  neighbor's  mouth'  as  frequently  as  they 
will  receive  it !  But  my  dear  "William  will  steadfastly  resist 
such  foolish  advisers.  I  dare  take  the  responsibility  (and  I 
have  more  reason  to  feel  its  weight  than  any  other  being).  I 
have  far  more  hope  for  your  health,  because  you  abstain  from 
stimulating  drinks,  than  I  should  if  you  took  them.  Flee  the 
detestable  thing  as  you  would  a  serpent.  Be  a  teetotaler  in 
principle  and  practice." 


1852, 
Age  23. 


The 

physical 
aspect 
of  the 

question. 


Moderate 
drinkers. 


Foolish 
advisers. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
WOMAN'S  RIGHTS.     1853. 


A  lofty 
concep- 
tion. 


The  pul- 
pit mon- 
opolised. 


No  mere 
figure- 
head. 


An  earhj 

battle  ' 

fought 

and  won. 


The  new  year  found  Miss  Mumford  diligently  pre- 
paring for  her  future  career  as  a  minister's  wife. 
She  had  a  lofty  conception,  altogether  in  advance  of 
the  age,  of  the  honour,  the  opportunity,  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  position  to  which  she  aspired.  Had 
there  been  a  theological  institution  at  which  she  could 
have  prosecuted  her  studies,  she  would  doubtless  have 
embraced  the  opportunity  with  eagerness.  But  the 
pulpit  was  monopolised  by  the  other  sex,  and  the  idea 
had  become  firmly  embedded  in  the  creeds  and  opin- 
ions of  Christendom  that  woman's  sphere  was  limited 
to  the  home,  or  at  least  to  the  care  and  instruction  of 
children. 

Nevertheless,  Miss  Mumford  scorned  the  notion  that 
a  minister's  wife  was  to  content  herself  with  being  a 
mere  ornamental  appendage  to  her  husband,  a  figure- 
head to  grace  his  tea-table,  or  even  a  mother  to  care 
for  his  children.  Her  ideal  was  a  far  higher  one. 
She  believed  it  was  her  privilege  to  share  his  coun- 
sels, her  duty  to  watch  over  and  help  his  soul,  and 
her  pleasure  to  partake  in  his  labours.  She  made  no 
secret  of  her  views  in  speaking  and  writing  to  Mr. 
Booth.  Indeed,  their  first  serious  difference  of  opin- 
ion arose  soon  after  their  engagement  in  regard  to 
the  mental  and  social  equality  of  woman  as  compared 
with  man.  Mr.  Booth  argued  that  while  the  former 
carried  the  palm  in  point  of  affection,  the  latter  was 

116 


WOMAN'S  RIGHTS.  1 17 

her  superior  in  regard  to  intellect.  He  quoted  the  1053, 
old  aphorism  that  woman  has  a  fibre  more  in  her  ^^  ^'^' 
heart  and  a  cell  less  in  her  brain.  Miss  Mumford 
would  not  admit  this  for  a  moment.  She  held  that 
intellectually  woman  was  man's  equal,  and  that, 
where  it  was  not  so,  the  inferiority  was  due  to  dis- 
advantages of  training,  a  lack  of  opportunity,  rather 
than  to  any  shortcomings  on  the  part  of  nature.  In- 
deed she  had  avowed  her  determination  never  to  take 
as  her  partner  in  life  one  who  was  not  prepared  to 
give  woman  her  proper  due, 

Mr.  Booth,  in  spite  of  his  usual  inflexibility  of  pur-     Open  to 

convic- 

pose,  has  always  been  singularly  open  to  conviction.  tion. 
Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  he  succumbed  to  the  logic 
of  his  fair  disputant  ?  And  thus  a  vantage-ground  w^as 
gained  of  which  the  Salvation  Army  has  since  learned 
to  make  good  use.  A  principle  was  laid  down  and  es- 
tablished, which  was  to  mightily  affect  the  future  of 
womankind,  and  indeed  of  humanity  at  large.  The 
parties  themselves  at  the  time  little  imagined  what  was 
involved  in  the  carrying  out  of  that  principle  to  its 
legitimate  issue.  Nevertheless  it  became  henceforth 
an  essential  and  important  doctrine  in  their  creed  that 
in  Jesus  Christ  there  was  neither  male  nor  female,  but 
that  the  Gospel  combined  with  nature  to  place  both 
on  a  footing  of  absolute  mental  and  spiritual  equality. 
Miss  Mumford's  views  on  this  subject  are  so  ad- 
mirably expressed  in  a  letter  addressed  by  her  to  her 
pastor.  Dr.  David  Thomas,  and  the  question  is  so  f^^J^^^J' 
important  a  one,  that  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  ^J^''' 
her  remarks  in  full : 

"  Dear  Sir  : — You  will  doubtless  be  surprised  at  the  receipt 
of  this  communication,  and  I  assure  you  it  is  with  great  reluct- 
ance and  a  feeling  of  profound  respect  that  I  make  it.  Were 
it  not  for  the  high  estimate  I  entertain  for  both  your  intellect 


ii8 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1853, 
Age  24. 


Woman 
not  mor- 
ally in- 
ferior to 
man. 


Study  the 
subject. 


Takes  her 
stand  ujj- 

on  the 

Bible. 


Educa- 
tionally, 
but  not 
naturally 
inferior. 


and  heart,  I  would  spare  the  sacrifice  it  will  cost  me.  But 
because  I  believe  you  love  truth,  of  whatever  kind,  and  would 
not  willingly  countenance  or  propagate  erroneous  views  on 
any  subject,  I  venture  to  address  you. 

"  Excuse  me,  my  dear  sir,  I  feel  myself  but  a  babe  in  com- 
parison with  you.  But  permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  a 
subject  on  which  my  heart  has  been  deeply  pained.  In  your 
discourse  on  Sunday  morning,  when  descanting  on  the  policy 
of  Satan  in  first  attacking  the  most  assailable  of  our  race,  your 
remarks  appeared  to  imply  the  doctrine  of  woman's  intellect- 
ual and  even  moral  inferiority  to  man.  I  cannot  believe  that 
you  intended  to  be  so  understood,  at  least  with  reference  to 
her  moral  nature.  But  I  fear  the  tenor  of  your  remarks  would 
too  surely  leave  such  an  impression  on  the  minds  of  many  of 
your  congregation,  and  I  for  one  cannot  but  deeply  regret  that 
a  man  for  whom  I  entertain  such  a  high  veneration  should 
appear  to  hold  views  so  derogatory  to  my  sex,  and  which  I 
believe  to  be  unscriptural  and  dishonouring  to  God. 

"  Permit  me,  my  dear  sir,  to  ask  whether  you  have  ever 
made  the  subject  of  woman's  equality  as  a  being,  the  matter 
of  calm  investigation  and  thought?  If  not  I  would,  with  all 
deference,  suggest  it  as  a  subject  well  worth  the  exercise  of 
your  brain,  and  calculated  amply  to  repay  any  research  you 
may  bestow  upon  it. 

"  So  far  as  Scriptural  evidence  is  concerned,  did  I  but  pos- 
sess ability  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  I  dare  take  my  stand 
on  /'/  against  the  world  in  defending  her  perfect  equality. 
And  it  is  because  I  am  persuaded  that  no  honest,  unprejudiced 
investigation  of  the  sacred  volume  can  give  perpetuity  to  the 
mere  assumptions  and  false  notions  which  have  gained  cur- 
rency in  society  on  this  subject,  that  I  so  earnestly  commend 
it  to  your  attention.  I  have  such  confidence  in  the  nobility  of 
your  nature,  that  I  feel  certain  neither  prejudice  nor  custom 
can  blind  you  to  the  truth,  if  you  will  once  turn  attention  to 
the  matter. 

"  That  woman  is,  in  consequence  of  her  inadequate  educa- 
tion, generally  inferior  to  man  intellectually,  I  admit.  But 
that  she  is  naturally  so,  as  your  remarks  seemed  to  imply,  I 
see  no  cause  to  believe.  I  think  the  disparity  is  as  easily  ac- 
counted for  as  the  difference  between  woman  intellectually  in 
this   country  and   under    the   degrading   slavery  of  heathen 


WOMAN'S  RIGHTS. 


119 


lands.  No  argument,  in  my  judgment,  can  be  drawn  from 
past  experience  on  this  point,  because  the  past  has  been  false 
in  theory  and  wrong  in  practice.  Never  yet  in  the  history  of 
the  world  has  woman  been  placed  on  an  intellectual  footing 
with  man.  Her  training  from  babyhood,  even  in  this  highly 
favoured  land,  has  hitherto  been  such  as  to  cramp  and  paralyse, 
rather  than  to  develop  and  strengthen,  her  energies,  and  cal- 
culated to  crush  and  wither  her  aspirations  after  mental  great- 
ness rather  than  to  excite  and  stimulate  them.  And  even  where 
the  more  directly  depressing  influence  has  been  withdrawn, 
the  indirect  and  more  powerful  stimulus  has  been  wanting. 

"  What  inducement  has  been  held  out  to  her  to  cultivate 
habits  of  seclusion,  meditation,  and  thought?  What  sphere 
has  been  open  to  her?  What  kind  of  estimate  would  have 
been  formed  of  her  a  few  generations  back,  had  she  presumed 
to  enter  the  temple  of  learning,  or  to  have  turned  her  attain- 
ments to  any  practical  account?  And  even  to  within  a  very 
few  years,  has  not  her  education  been  more  calculated  to  ren- 
der her  a  serf,  a  toy,  a  plaything,  rather  than  a  self-dependent, 
reflecting,  intellectual  being?  The  day  is  only  just  dawning 
with  reference  to  female  education,  and  therefore  any  verdict 
on  woman  as  an  intellectual  being  must  be  premature  and  un- 
satisfactory. Thank  God,  however,  we  are  not  without  num- 
erous and  noble  examples  of  what  she  may  become,  when 
prejudice  and  error  shall  give  way  to  light  and  truth,  and  her 
powers  be  duly  appreciated  and  developed. 

"  The  world  has  had  its  intellectual  as  well  as  its  moral  hero- 
ines, despite  all  the  disappointments  and  discouragements 
the  female  mind  has  had  to  surmount.  As  you,  my  dear  sir, 
often  say  in  reference  to  other  subjects,  'a  brighter  day  is 
dawning, '  and  ere  long  woman  will  assume  her  true  position, 
and  rise  to  the  full  height  of  her  intellectual  stature.  Then 
shall  the  cherished,  though  but  human,  dogma  of  having  'a 
cell  less  in  her  brain, '  with  all  kindred  assumptions,  be  ex- 
ploded and  perish  before  the  spell  of  her  developed  and  culti- 
vated mind. 

"  But,  lest  I  swell  this  letter  to  an  unseemly  length,  I  must 
hasten  to  say  a  word  or  two  on  the  moral  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. And  here  I  am  quite  sure  your  remarks  implied  more 
than  you  intended.  For  I  cannot  believe  that  you  consider 
woman   morally  more   remote   from   God   than  man,  or  less 


1853, 
Age  24. 

False 

theory 

and 

wrong 

practice. 


Her  ca- 
pacities 
unculti- 
vated. 


Explod- 
ing the 
fallacies. 


Moral  as- 
pect of 
the  ques- 
tion. 


I20 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i8S3, 
Age  24. 


Placed  by 

God  on 

same 

moral 

footing. 


Her 

moral 

courage. 


What 
Chris- 
tianity 
does  for 
woman. 


Man- 
made  re- 
ligions 
debase 
woman. 


capable  of  loving  Him  ardently  and  serving  Him  faithfully. 
If  such  were  the  case,  would  not  the  great  and  just  One  have 
made  some  difference  in  His  mode  of  dealing  with  her?  But 
has  He  not  placed  her  on  precisely  the  same  moral  footing, 
and  under  the  same  moral  government  with  her  companion? 
Does  she  not  sustain  the  same  relation  to  Himself  and  to  the 
moral  law?  And  is  she  not  exposed  to  the  same  penalties  and 
an  heir  of  the  same  immortality?  This  being  the  case,  I 
argue  that  she  possesses  equal  moral  capacity. 

"  Experience  also  on  this  point  I  think  affords  conclusive 
evidence.  Who,  since  the  personal  manifestation  and  cruci- 
fixion of  our  Lord,  have  ever  been  His  most  numerous  and 
faithful  followers?  On  whom  has  the  horrible  persecution  of 
past  ages  fallen  with  most  virulence,  if  not  on  the  sensitive 
heart  of  woman?  And  yet  how  rarely  has  she  betrayed  moral 
weakness  by  denying  her  Lord,  or  moral  remoteness  from 
Him  by  listening  to  the  tempter !  Has  she  not,  on  the  con- 
trary, stood  a  noble  witness  for  Christ  in  scenes  and  circum- 
stances the  most  agonizing  to  her  nature,  and  with  Paul  liter- 
ally counted  all  things  (even  husband  and  children)  but  loss 
for  His  sake?  And  even  now  is  she  not  in  thousands  of  in- 
stances 'dying  daily; '  waging  a  silent,  unostentatious  conflict 
with  evil, and  groaning  under  a  tyranny  compared  with  which 
the  flames  of  martrydom  would  be  welcome? 

"  Oh,  the  thing  which  next  to  the  revelation  of  the  plan  of 
salvation  endears  Christianity  to  my  heart  is,  what  it  has  done, 
and  is  destined  to  do,  for  my  sex.  And  any  attempt  to 
deduce  from  its  historical  records  or  practical  precepts  views 
and  doctrines  derogatory  thereto,  I  cannot  but  regard  with 
heartfelt  regret. 

"  All  man-made  religions  indeed  neglect  or  debase  woman, 
but  the  religion  of  Christ  recognizes  her  individuality  and 
raises  her  to  the  dignity  of  an  independent  moral  agent.  Un- 
der the  Old  Testament  dispensation  we  have  several  instances 
of  Jehovah  choosing  woman  as  a  vehicle  of  His  thoughts  and 
the  direct  and  authorized  exponent  of  His  will.  (Judges  iv. ; 
ii.  Kings  xxii.  13-20;  Micah  vi.  4.)  And  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment she  is  fully  restored  to  her  original  position,  it  being 
expressly  stated  that  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  male  nor 
female,  and  the  promise  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  is  no 
less  to  the  handmaidens  than  to  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 


IVOMAJV'S  RIGHTS. 


121 


"  It  appears  to  me  that  a  great  deal  of  prejudice  and  many 
mistaken  views  on  this  subject  arise  from  confounding  wo- 
man's relative  subjection  with  inferiority  of  nature,  as  though 
one  depended  on  the  other,  whereas  it  appears  to  me  entirely 
distinct.  God,  who  had  a  right  to  determine  the  penalty  for 
sin,  has  clearly  defined  and  fixed  a  woman's  domestic  and  social 
position,  and,  as  a  part  of  her  curse.  He  has  made  it  that  of 
subjection,  not,  however,  as  a  being,  but  only  in  a  certain  re- 
lationship, subjection  to  her  own  husband.  This  was  imposed 
upon  her  expressly  as  a  punishment  for  sin,  and  not  on  the 
ground  of  inferiority,  intellectual  or  moral.  Indeed  had  this 
subjection  existed  prior  to  the  Fall,  as  the  natural  conse- 
quences of  inferiority,  there  would  have  been  no  force  in  the 
words  'He  shall  be  over  thee.'  But  to  subject  a  being  of 
equal  power  and  strength  of  will  to  the  will  of  another  does 
appear  to  me  to  be  a  curse  indeed,  when  both  are  unregener- 
ate. 

"  Here,  however,  the  glorious  provisions  of  Christianity 
come  in  to  those  who  are  united  in  Christ.  The  seed  of  the 
woman,  having  bruised  the  head  of  her  old  enemy,  and  taken 
the  curse  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  His  cross,  the  wife  may 
realize  as  blissful  and  perfect  a  oneness  with  her  husband  as 
though  it  had  never  been  pronounced.  For  while  the  sem- 
blance of  it  remains,  Jesus  has  beautifully  extracted  the  sting 
by  making  love  the  law  of  marriage,  and  by  restoring  the  insti- 
tution itself  to  its  original  sanctity.  What  wife  would  not  be 
careful  to  reverence  a  husband,  who  loves  her  as  Christ  loves 
the  Church?  Surely  the  honour  put  upon  woman  by  the  Lord, 
both  in  His  example  and  precepts,  should  make  His  religion 
doubly  precious  to  her  and  render  His  sanctuary  her  safe 
refuge  froin  everything  derogatory  or  insulting  to  her  nature ! 

"  Oh  that  Christians  at  heart  would  throw  off  the  trammels 
of  prejudice,  and  try  to  arrive  at  the  truth  on  this  subject! 
Oh  that  men  of  noble  souls  and  able  intellect  would  investi- 
gate it,  and  then  ask  themselves  and  their  compeers,  why  the 
influence  of  woman  should  be  so  underestimated,  that  a 
book,  a  sermon,  or  a  lecture  addressed  to  her  is  a  rarity,  while 
those  to  young  men  are  multiplied  indefinitely?  If  it  be  only 
partially  true  that  those  who  rock  the  cradle  rule  the  world, 
how  much  greater  is  the  influence  wielded  over  the  mind  of 
future  ages  by  the  mothers  of  the  next  generation  than  by  all 


1 853, 
Age  24. 

He,r  rel- 
ative auh- 
jection. 

Not  in- 
feriority 
of  nature. 

But  a 
punish- 
ment for 
sin. 


The  curse 

taken 
away  by 
Christ. 


The  law 
of  love. 


The  truth 
on  the 
subject. 


Woman 
the  key  to 
the  situ- 
ation. 


122 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1853, 
Age  24. 


Degrad- 
ing 
notions. 


The  duty 

of  the 

Church. 


The  cause 
of  non- 
success. 


I  love  my 
sex. 


Indepen- 
dent 


Domestic 
position. 


the  young  men  living!  Vain,  in  my  opinion,  will  be  all 
efforts  to  impregnate  minds  generally  with  noble  sentiments 
and  lofty  aspirations,  while  the  mothers  of  humanity  are  com- 
paratively neglected,  and  their  minds  indoctrinated  from  the 
school-room,  the  press,  the  platform,  and  even  the  pulpit, 
with  self-degrading  feelings  and  servile  notions  of  their  own 
inferiority !  Never  till  woman  is  estimated  and  educated  as 
man's  equal — the  literal  'she-man'  of  the  Hebrew — will  the 
foundation  of  human  influence  become  pure,  or  the  bias  of 
mind  noble  and  lofty. 

"  Oh  that  the  ministers  of  religion  would  search  the  original 
records  of  God's  v/ord  in  order  to  discover  whether  the  general 
notions  of  society  are  not  wrong  on  this  subject,  and  whether 
God  really  intended  woman  to  bury  her  gifts  and  talents,  as 
she  now  does,  with  reference  to  the  interests  of  His  Church ! 
Oh  that  the  Church  generally  would  inquire  whether  narrow 
prejudice  and  lordly  usurpation  has  not  something  to  do  with 
the  circumscribed  sphere  of  woman's  religious  labours,  and 
whether  much  of  the  non-success  of  the  Gospel  is  not  attri- 
butable to  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  the  operations  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  this  as  well  as  other  particulars !  Would  to 
God  that  the  truth  on  this  subject,  ^o  important  to  the  inter- 
ests of  future  generations,  were  better  understood  and  prac- 
tically recognised !  And  it  is  because  I  feel  that  it  is  only  the 
truth  that  needs  to  be  understood,  that  I  make  this  appeal  to 
one  who,  I  believe,  loves  truth  for  its  own  sake,  and  who,  I 
know,  possesses  the  ability  to  aid  in  its  manifestation. 

"  Forgive  me,  my  dear  sir,  if  I  have  spoken  too  boldly,  I 
feel  deeply  on  this  subject,  though  God  knows  it  is  not  on 
personal  grounds.  I  love  my  sex.  I  desire  above  all  earthly 
things  their  moral  and  intellectual  elevation.  I  believe  it 
would  be  the  greatest  boon  to  our  race.  And  though  I  deeply 
feel  my  own  inability  to  help  it  forward,  I  could  not  satisfy 
my  conscience  without  making  this  humble  attempt  to  enlist 
one  whose  noble  sentiments  on  other  subjects  have  so  long 
been  precious  to  my  soul. 

"  Allow  me  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  the  views  I  have  ex- 
pressed are  as  independent  and  distinct  from  any  society  or 
association  of  whatever  name,  as  your  own  on  the  war  ques- 
tion. I  have  no  sympathy  with  those  who  would  alter 
woman's  domestic  and  social  position  from  what  is  laid  down 


WOMAN'S  RIGHTS.  123 

in  the  Scriptures.     This,  I  believe,  God  has  clearly  defined,       1853, 
and  has  given  the  reason  for  His  conduct.     And,  therefore,  I     ^£^  ^4- 
submit,  feeling  that  in  wisdom  and  love,  as  well  as  in  judg- 
ment, He  has  done  it.     But  on   the   subject   of  equality   of 
nature,  I  believe  my  convictions  are  true. 

"  But  I  fear  I  have  swelled  this  communication  to  an  undue  Equality 
length,  though  I  realize  how  imperfectly  I  have  expressed  my- 
self. I  hope,  however,  if  there  be  anything  worth  your  atten- 
tion, you  will  not  despise  it  on  account  of  its  illogical  expres- 
sion. Nay,  I  feel  sure  you  will  not.  Neither,  I  trust,  will  you 
judge  me  harshly  for  withholding  my  name.  I  began  this  let- 
ter hesitating  whether  I  should  do  so  or  not.  But  there  being 
nothing  in  it  of  a  personal  character,  or  which  can  at  all  be 
influenced  by  the  recognition  of  the  critic,  and  it  being  the 
furthest  from  my  thoughts  to  obtrude  myself  upon  your  notice, 
I  shall  feel  at  liberty  to  subscribe  myself  an  attentive  hearer, 
and  I  trust  a  mental  and  spiritual  debtor  to  your  ministry." 

The  practical  commentary  on  the  opinions  expressed  ^  ^  '^/^-^ 
in  this  letter  is  indelibly  written  upon  the  whole  life 
of  Catherine  Booth.  Her  views  never  altered.  She 
was  to  the  end  of  her  days  an  unfailing,  unflinching, 
uncompromising  champion  of  woman's  rights.  There 
were  few  subjects  that  would  so  readily  call  forth  the 
latent  fire,  as  any  reflection  upon  the  capacities  or 
relative  position  of  woman. 

"  I  despise  the  attitude  of  the  English  press  toward    ^^^^  ^l' 
woman,"  she  remarked  one  day.      "  Let  a  man  make  ^^e  Press. 
a  decent  speech  on  any  subject,  and  he  is  lauded  to 
the  skies.     Whereas,  however  magnificent  a  speech 
a  woman  may  make,  all  she  gets  is,  'Mrs.  So-and-so 
delivered  an  earnest  address!* 

"I  don't  speak  for  myself.  My  personal  experi- 
ence, especially  outside  London,  has  been  otherwise. 
But  I  do  feel  it  keenly  on  behalf  of  womankind  at 
large,  that  the  man  should  be  praised,  while  the 
woman,  who  has  probably  fought  her  way  through 
inconceivably  greater  difficulties  in  order  to  achieve 


124  MRS.    BOOTH. 

1853,      the    same  result,   should   be  passed   over  without   a 

Grinding        "  I  have  tried  to  grind  it  into  my  boys  that  their 
^  ^boys!^^  sisters  were  just  as  intelligent  and  capable  as  them- 
selves.    Jesus  Christ's  principle  was  to  put  woman 
on  the  same  platform  as  man,  although  I  am  sorry  to 
say  His  apostles  did  not  always  act  up  to  it." 
No  idea         At  the   time,  however,  of   which  we    are    writing, 

of  a  pub-  . 

lie  min-    nothing  was  further  from  Miss  Mumford's  mind  than 
the   idea  of  any   public  ministry   for   herself.     The 
highest  position  to  which  she  then  aspired,  and  which 
seemed  to  be  within  the  legitimate  sphere  of  a  wo- 
man's influence,  was  that  of  seconding  her  husband's 
public  efforts  in  a  private  capacity.     She  says  in  one 
of  her  letters  written  to  Mr.  Booth  at  this  time,  that 
she  was  sending  him  some  notes  and  extracts  which 
she  had  made  from    various    sources,  and    that   she 
would  continue  to  do  this  from  time  to  time,  adding, 
"  Perhaps    you  will  not  object  to  receive   something 
ortg'i?ial  occasionally,  provided  that  it  is  short."     And 
luring     SO  we  find  her  manufacturing  sermons  long  before  she 
sermons.    ^^^^^^^  of  delivering  them.     Nor    had    Mr.  Booth 
any  idea  that  his  betrothed  would  ever  be  able  so  far 
to  overcome  her  intense  timidity  as  to  speak  in  public. 
Mr.  ^      Not  that  he  was  opposed  to  female  ministry.     There 
early      had  been  a  time  when  he  had  regarded  it  with  preju- 

views  on      ^.  .,         .         1  -111  1  1  i- 

female  dicc,  having  heard  a  lady  preacher  whose  masculine 
mimstry.  ^^^  dictatorial  manner  had  grated  upon  his  sense  of 
decorum.  Subsequently,  however,  to  his  arrival  in 
London,  Mr.  Rabbitts  had  persuaded  him  to  attend 
a  service  in  which  a  Miss  Buck  had  been  announced 
to  preach.  The  text  chosen  was :  "The  great  trum- 
pet shall  be  blown,  and  they  shall  come  which 
were  ready  to  perish  in  the  land  of  Assyria,  and  the 
outcasts  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  shall  worship  the 


WOMAN'S  RIGHTS.  125 

Lord  in  the  holy  mount  at  Jerusalem." — Isaiah  .^^53. 
xxvii.  13.  The  sermon  was  a  particularly  powerful 
one ;  and,  although  not  fully  converted  to  the  principle, 
Mr.  Booth  left  the  chapel  saying  that  he  should  never 
again  oppose  the  practice,  since  Miss  Buck  had  cer- 
tainly preached  more  effectively  than  three-fourths  of 
the  men  he  had  ever  listened  to. 

Unconscious,    however,  as    was  Miss    Mumford  of  Duties  of 

.  ,     ,  a  minis- 

the  public  career  that  awaited  her,  she  nevertheless  ter'swife. 
fully  estimated  the  privileges  of  the  post  she  was 
about  to  occupy.  She  had  long  since  seen  the  ne- 
cessity of  setting  a  different  example  to  the  majority 
of  ministers'  wives  with  whom  she  was  acquainted. 
She  was  amazed  and  pained  at  finding  them  living  in 
such  conformity  with  the  world,  rivalling  the  most 
fashionable  members  of  their  congregation  in  their 
modes  of  dress,  and  bringing  up  their  children  with 
almost  the  sole  object  of  giving  them  a  first-class 
education  in  order  that  they  might  obtain  a  high 
position  in  society.  Diligent  in  their  attendance 
at  tea-parties,  they  were  usually  conspicuous  by  their 
absence  at  revival  meetings,  except  perhaps  on  Sun- 
days. Miss  Mumford  felt  that  this  was  all  the  very 
opposite  of  her  ideal  of  what  a  minister's  wife  should 
be.  She  could  not  bear  anything  approaching  to 
lightness  and  frivolity.  The  tattling  and  gossip  with  views  on 
which  so  many  wasted  their  time  were  utterly  repug- 
nant to  her  nature,  and  seemed  calculated,  in  her 
opinion,  to  undo  the  effects  of  the  ablest  ministry. 

"  Being  so  much  alone  in  my  youth,"  she  remarks 
in  after  life,  "  and  so  thrown  on  my  own  thoughts  and 
those  of  the  mighty  dead  as  expressed  in  books,  has 
been  helpful  to  me.  Had  I  been  given  to  gossip,  and 
had  there  been  people  for  me  to  gossip  with,  I  should 
certainly  never  have  accomplished  what  I  did.     I  be- 


126 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1853, 
Age  24. 


Talking 
twaddle. 


lieve  gossip  is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  to  both 
mental  and  spiritual  improvement.  It  encourages 
the  mind  to  dwell  on  the  superficial  aspect  of  things 
and  the  passing  trivialities  of  the  hour. 

"  There  are  very  few  people  who  have  either  the  ca- 
pacity or  inclination  to  converse  on  deep  and  impor- 
tant questions.  And  therefore,  if  you  mix  much  with 
them,  you  are  obliged  to  come  to  their  level  and  talk 
their  twaddle.  This  you  cannot  do,  except  perhaps 
now  and  then  as  a  recreation,  without  its  having  a 
reflective  evil  effect  on  the  mind.  I  should  think  that, 
as  a  rule,  if  we  knew  the  lives  of  persons  whose  men- 
tal attainments  are  of  a  superior  character,  we  should 
find  that  they  are  men  and  women  who  have  been 
very  much  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  and  cut 
off  from  others,  either  by  choice  or  by  their  circum- 
stances. In  confirmation  of  this,  one  has  only  to  note 
Ordinary  the  ordinary  conversation  at  a  dinner  table,  or  in  a 
railway  carriage,  to  observe  how  little  substance  there 
is  in  it.  As  a  rule  there  is  not  a  word  spoken  of  an 
elevating  or  useful  tendency  in  the  whole  conversa- 
tion, and  indeed  it  is  commonly  the  case  that  nothing 
has  been  said  which  might  not  just  as  well,  or  better, 
have  been  left  unsaid." 

For  a  minister's  wife  to  spend  her  life  in  such 
emptiness  seemed  to  Miss  Mumford  very  reprehen- 
sible, and  so  painfully  conscientious  was  she  in  re- 
gard to  this  that  even  in  her  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Booth  we  find  her  striving  continually  to  make  both 
letters  and  conversation  of  as  useful  and  practical  a 
nature  as  possible.  Again,  it  was  a  source  of  regret 
to  her  to  find  that  so  few  occupying  this  position  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  study  of  such  books  as  were 
calculated  to  improve  their  minds,  and  make  them  real 
help-meets  to  their  husbands.     The  very  idea  of  what 


talk. 


A  high 
ideal. 


WOMAN'S  RIGHTS. 


127 


is  termed  "light  reading,"  for  one  who  professed  to 
have  devoted  her  life  to  so  sacred  a  cause,  seemed  to 
her  unsuitable  in  the  extreme.  For  novels  in  par- 
ticular she  had  an  intense  hatred.  To  read  them 
seemed  to  her  contrary  to  the  profession  of  Christian- 
ity, and  fraught  with  the  most  evil  consequences. 

"  I  have  every  reason  to  be  glad,"  she  tells  us  at  the 
end  of  her  long  career  of  usefulness,  "  that  I  never  read 
a  single  novel  in  my  young  days.  Indeed  I  could  count 
on  my  fingers  the  number  I  have  read  throughout  my 
life,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  little  I  gained  from 
those  I  did  read  was  worth  the  expenditure  of  time. 

"  I  carefully  kept  novels  of  every  kind  from  my 
children,  and  am  certain  that  many  of  the  troubles 
which  afflict  and  divide  families  have  their  origin  in 
works  of  fiction.  Not  only  are  false  and  unnatural 
views  of  men  and  women  and  of  life  in  general  pre- 
sented, but  sentiments  are  created  in  the  minds  of 
young  people,  which  produce  discontent  with  their 
surroundings,  impatience  of  parental  restraint,  and  a 
premature  forcing  of  the  social  and  sexual  instincts, 
such  as  must  cause  untold  harm.  Not  only  so,  but 
they  lead  to  the  formation  of  relationships  and  com- 
panionships that  cannot  but  be  injurious,  while  the 
mind  is  filled  with  pernicious  and  vain  ambitions 
destined  never  to  be  fulfilled. 

"  While  I  would  not  include  every  single  novel  un- 
der the  same  condemnation,  yet  no  one  acquainted 
with  the  subject  will  deny  that  even  those  works  of 
fiction  which  are  more  particularly  read  as  offering 
useful  representations  of  historical  events  or  of  the 
social  condition  of  various  nations  and  periods,  excite 
the  imagination  and  create  a  taste  for  works  of  a  sim- 
ilarly fictitious  character,  though  written  with  a  widely 
different   object.     It  is,  moreover,  equally   true   that 


1853, 

Age  24. 

Her 
strong  ob- 
jection  to 
novel 
reading. 


Not  worth 
the  time. 


Wo7'ks   of 

fiction  the 

origin  of 

family 

troubles. 


Creating 

a  false 

appetite. 


128 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1853, 
Age  24. 


The  secret 

of 
greatness. 


The  cul- 
tivation 
of  gifts. 


Acting  on 
principle. 


few  readers  of  even  the  least  baneful  class  of  novels 
ever  read  them  slowly  and  carefully  enough  to  bene- 
fit much  by  the  information  they  may  contain." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  Mrs.  Booth  occupy- 
ing the  sphere  of  usefulness  to  which  she  ultimately 
attained,  had  her  time  been  frittered  away  in  the  or- 
dinary frivolities  of  society,  or  in  the  reading  of  light 
and  sentimental  literature.  No  amount  of  natural 
talent  would  have  sufficed  to  counteract  such  influ- 
ences. The  laws  of  nature  are  as  irrevocably  fixed  in 
regard  to  our  minds  as  in  regard  to  our  bodies.  And 
we  can  no  more  systematically  poison  the  one  with 
bad  literature  and  idle  conversation  without  injurious 
effect,  than  we  can  the  other  with  unwholesome  or 
unsuitable  food.  And  yet  what  multitudes  of  profess- 
ing Christians  expose  themselves  and  their  children  to 
such  dangers,  vainly  hoping  that  in  some  way  or 
other  they  may  escape  the  consequences;  only  too 
often  living  to  mourn  the  results  of  their  folly  with 
lamentations  which  are  embittered  by  the  knowledge 
that  they  were  self-incurred,  and  might  therefore 
have  been  avoided. 

Many,  no  doubt,  who  have  listened  to  Mrs.  Booth's 
addresses,  or  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  receiving 
her  personal  advice,  have  been  surprised  at  the  suc- 
cess with  which  in  the  midst  of  multiplied  and  cease- 
less labours  she  has  reared  a  large  family,  and  have 
wished  that,  even  afar  off,  they  could  follow  in  her 
footsteps  and  emulate  her  example. 

To  such  it  will  be  encouraging  to  discover,  that 
while  undoubtedly  gifted  by  nature  with  special 
powers,  it  was  to  the  persistent  use  she  made  of  them 
and  to  her  diligent  improvement  of  them,  that,  under 
God,  she  owed  her  wonderful  career.  She  laid  down 
for   her   guidance    certain    principles,   which   are   as 


WOMAN  S  RIGHTS.  129 

strictly  applicable  to  others  as  to  herself,  and  having  1853, 
laid  them  down  nothing  would  induce  her  to  swerve  ^^^  ^4- 
from  them.  She  did  that  which  was  good,  and  did 
it  systematically  and  perpetually,  because  it  com- 
mended itself  to  her  highest  judgment.  She  avoided 
the  appearance  of  evil,  hating  even  the  garment  that 
was  spotted  with  the  flesh.  And  hence  to  the  last 
she  was  able  to  say :  "  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even 
as  I  am  of  Christ." 

True,  she  had  the  five  talents,  and  we  may  have  a  chance 
but  the  one.  And  yet  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  not  do  with  our  one  Avhat  she  did  with  her 
five,  and  then  we  may  discover,  as  she  did,  that  after 
all  we  possess  other  talents,  the  very  existence  of 
which  we  had  never  suspected.  At  least  there  will 
be  the  infinite  and  unalloyed  satisfaction  of  being 
able  to  offer  to  our  Master  at  His  coming  His  own 
with  usury, 

9 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A  kaleid- 
oscope of 
change. 


Art  in- 
ferior to 
nature. 


Few 
originals. 


VIEWS   ON   COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE. 

1853. 

Nature  abounds  in  contrasts.  Indeed  this  con- 
stitutes its  chief  charm.  Earth  and  sky,  land  and 
sea,  mountain  and  valley,  light  and  darkness,  sun- 
shine and  shadow,  provide  a  kaleidoscope  of  change 
and  dissipate  the  monotony  that  would  otherwise 
tarnish  God's  most  perfect  works.  The  calm  and  the 
terrific  in  nature  are  often  linked  together.  Above 
the  fertile  plains  and  tranquil  bay  of  Naples  tower 
the  frowning  summits  of  Vesuvius,  belching  forth 
dark  columns  of  smoke  by  day  and  lurid  flames  by 
night.  The  serenity  of  the  one  adds  to  the  grandeur 
of  the  other. 

With  the  most  perfect  creations  of  man's  art  and 
genius  it  is  otherwise.  The  best  that  he  can  do  is  to 
imitate  either  some  fraction  of  the  grand  original,  or 
the  product  of  another's  brain.  And  even  in  imitat- 
ing he  seldom  equals  and  often  mars  the  very  object 
he  admires.  There  is  too  much  of  the  scale  and  yard- 
measure  about  his  efforts.  The  mind  is  wearied  with 
the  dull  sameness  and  consequent  tameness  of  the 
view.  Contrast,  for  instance,  the  unsightly  wilder- 
ness of  bricks,  of  streets  and  pavements  and  ungainly 
chimney-pots,  which  constitute  a  city,  with  the  bril- 
liant verdure  and  variety  of  a  country  landscape. 

And  so  with  human  beings ;  while  the  world  is  full 
of  imitations,  there  are  but  few  originals.     The  whole 

130 


VIEWS  ON  COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.    131 

tendency  of  modern  education  is  to  put  all  humanity  1853. 
into  a  sort  of  Procrustes'  bed,  in  which,  if  there  be  ^®  ^4* 
room  for  the  biggest  head,  it  is  at  the  sacrifice  of  the 
noblest  heart,  and  if  mental  culture  is  afforded  un- 
limited space,  both  spirituality  and  individuality  are 
mercilessly  lopped  off.  Amidst  the  millions  that  com- 
pose mankind,  how  rarely  do  we  find  a  genuine  un- 
alloyed child  of  nature,  and  how  refreshing  is  the 
discovery  when  it  is  made ! 

Such  an  one  was  Catherine  Mumford.     Happily  she     Giving 
had  escaped  the  ruthless  shears  of    conventionality  to  nature. 
which  so  often  amputate  the  limbs  in  their  anxiety  to 
clip  the  wool  that  grows  on  them..     While  developing 
her  mental  powers  she  had  given  superior  scope  to 
the  moral  and  Divine.     Hence  nature  had  full  play, 
and  produced  the  same  striking  contrasts  as  in  the  in- 
animate world.     There  was    robustness    and  vigour 
without  angularity,  firm  conviction  without  dogmat-    vigorous 
ism,  intellectual  power  combined  with  feminine  grace    angular. 
and  tenderness.     She  was  a  good  hater;  she  abhorred 
that  which  was  evil,  and  fearlessly  denounced  it,  be 
the  consequences  what  they  might.     For  the  Phari- 
sees she  had  little  patience,  while  over  publicans  and 
sinners  she  yearned  with  a  sympathy  and  compassion 
that  knew  no  bounds.     There  was  an  originality  and 
muscularity,  so    to    speak,   about    her    religion,  very 
different    from    the    sickening  sentimentality  which 
often  passes  by  the  name. 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  occurred  during  the  c^MrTsft^'^ 
present  period,  and  is  deserving  of  something  more 
than  a  passing  notice,  inasmuch  as  it  furnishes  an  op- 
portunity for  the  expression  of  her  views  on  the  im- 
portant subject  of  courtship  and  marriage. 

Among  the  circle  of  her  personal    friends  was  a 
lady,  to  whom  she  was  very  much  attached,  and  who 


132 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1853.  had  been  engaged  for  some  years  to  a  minister,  So- 
^^  ^*  cially  she  was  his  equal,  while  her  talents  and  piety 
admirably  fitted  her  for  the  position  she  was  to  occupy. 
It  so  happened,  however,  that  in  the  neighbourhood 
there  resided  a  wealthy  family,  at  whose  house  he  be- 
came a  frequent  visitor.  Finding  there  was  an  op- 
portunity for  bettering  his  worldly  interests  he  basely 
A  broken   broke  off  his  engagement,  adding  insult  to  injury  by 

engage-         i-,-  i-  iiT-i  ■,  -,  -, 

ment.  alleging  as  his  reason  that  he  did  not  and  could  not 
love  her.  Soon  afterward,  however,  it  became  known 
that  he  was  engaged  to  a  daughter  of  the  family  re- 
ferred to.  Miss  Mumford  was  indignant  at  the  heart- 
less treatment  of  her  friend,  whose  sorrow  she  entered 
into  as  though  it  had  been  her  own.  To  her  the  vows 
of  betrothal  were  as  sacred  as  those  of  marriage,  es- 
pecially when,  as  in  this  case,  they  had  not  only  been 
entered  upon  with  deliberation,  but  had  extended  over 
a  considerable  space  of  time.  The  motives  which 
had  prompted  the  desertion  seemed  to  her  mean  and 
contemptible  in  the  extreme.  That  a  true  heart 
should  be  lacerated,  its  confidence  betrayed,  and  its 
happiness  extinguished  with  such  wanton  cruelty,  and 
this  by  one  who  professed  to  be  a  minister  of  Christ, 
seemed  to  her  incapable  of  defence  or  palliation. 
Referring  to  the  episode  in  a  letter  written  at  the 
time  she  says: 


The  voivs 

of 
betrothal. 


"  I  received  a  distracted,  heart-rending  letter  last  week  from 

Miss  ,  and   wrote    one    of  four  sheets    in   reply.     Poor 

dear  girl,  I  do  feel  for  her!  She  will,  in  spite  of  all  I  can  say, 
blame  herself  and  continue  to  look  at  the  mean  villain  as  if  he 
were  a  treasure.  Oh,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  loathe  him  now 
she  has  told  me  all,  and  it  does  not  exalt  her  in  my  esteem 
that  she  can  manifest  a  willingness  to  be  the  slave  of  a  man 
who  has  told  her  he  did  not  love  her !  But  I  make  every  allow- 
ance for  her  state  of  mind. 

"  She  seems  to  regard  me  with  uncommon  affection,  and 


VIEWS  ON  COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.    133 


thinks  my  letters  I  don't  know  what.  Poor  girl,  I  wish  she 
could  rise  above  it !  As  for  him,  he  has  thrown  away  a  loving 
heart  and  superior  mind  to  grasp  a  little  gold,  and  he  will 
lose  both,  so  surely  has  his  own  wickedness  corrected  him ! 
He  seems  to  fear  the  exposure.  He  has  resigned  office  and  says 
he  M'ill  emigrate.  I  should  hope  he  will !  He  ought  to  be 
sent  out  of  the  country  free  of  expense !  What  can  we  think 
of  a  young  man,  who  would  go  in  and  out  of  a  house,  where 
he  saw  he  was  making  a  false  impression  on  the  mind  of  a 
lady,  without  giving  her  any  intimation  that  he  was  engaged? 
What  sort  of  love  could  he  feel  for  the  professed  object  of  his 
choice?  What  kind  of  notions  would  he  entertain  of  manly 
honour?  What  species  of  religion  could  he  possess,  who  would 
so  coolly  sacrifice  honour  and  humanity  and  one  who  loved 
him,  in  order  to  possess  himself  of  a  little  gold?" 

It  was  not  that  Miss  Mumford  doubted  that  many 
rashly  formed  engagements  would  better  be  cancelled 
rather  than  consummated  in  a  marriage  which  would 
mean  a  life  of  prolonged  misery  to  both  parties.  But 
in  such  cases  she  believed  that  whatever  action  was 
taken  should  be  by  mutual  consent,  or  at  least  with 
the  tenderest  consideration  for  the  feelings  of  each 
concerned. 

"Who  can  wonder,"  she  remarked  in  later  life, 
"that  marriage  is  so  often  a  failure,  when  we  observe 
the  ridiculous  way  in  which  courtship  is  commonly 
carried  on?  Would  not  ajiy  partnership  result  disas- 
trously that  was  entered  into  in  so  blind  and  senseless 
a  fashion  ? 

"  Perhaps  the  greatest  evil  of  all  is  Jiurry.  Young 
people  do  not  allow  themselves  time  to  know  each 
other  before  an  engagement  is  formed.  They  should 
take  time,  and  make  opportunities  for  acquainting 
themselves  with  each  other's  character,  disposition, 
and  peculiarities  before  coming  to  a  decision.  This 
is  the  great  point.  They  should  on  no  account  com- 
mit themselves  until  they  are  fully  satisfied  in  their 


1853, 
Age  24. 


Unsuit- 
able en- 
gage- 
ments. 


The  cause 
of  un- 
happy 
mar- 
riages. 


The  evil 
of  hurrij. 


134 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i8S3, 
Age  24. 


Acting  on 
principle. 


Congeni- 
ality of 
temper- 
ament. 


The 
bread- 
winner 

and 
house- 
keejjer 
idea. 


Religious 
agree- 
ment. 


own  minds,  assured  that  if  they  have  a  doubt  before- 
hand it  generally  increases  afterward.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  this  is  where  thousands  make  shipwreck, 
and  mourn  the  consequences  all  their  lives. 

"  Then  again,  every  courtship  ought  to  be  based  on 
certain  definite  principles.  This,  too,  is  a  fruitful 
cause  of  mistake  and  misery.  Very  few  have  a  defi- 
nite idea  as  to  what  they  want  in  a  partner,  and  hence 
they  do  not  look  for  it.  They  simply  go  about  the 
matter  in  a  haphazard  sort  of  fashion,  and  jump  into 
an  alliance  upon  the  first  drawings  of  mere  natural 
feeling,  regardless  of  the  laws  which  govern  such 
relationships. 

"  In  the  first  place,  each  of  the  parties  ought  to  be 
satisfied  that  there  are  to  be  found  in  the  other  such 
qualities  as  would  make  them  friends  if  they  were  of 
the  same  sex.  In  other  words,  there  should  be  a  con- 
geniality and  compatibility  of  temperament.  For 
instance,  it  must  be  a  fatal  error,  fraught  with  per- 
petual misery,  for  a  man  who  has  mental  gifts  and 
high  aspirations  to  marry  a  woman  who  is  only  fit  to 
be  a  mere  drudge ;  or  for  a  woman  of  refinement  and 
ability  to  marry  a  man  who  is  good  for  nothing  better 
than  to  follow  the  plough,  or  look  after  a  machine. 
And  yet,  how  many  seek  for  a  mere  bread-winner,  or 
a  housekeeper,  rather  than  for  a  friend,  a  counsellor 
and  companion.  Unhappy  marriages  are  usually  the 
consequences  of  too  great  a  disparity  of  mind,  age, 
temperament,  training,  or  antecedents. 

"  As  quite  a  young  girl  I  early  made  up  my  mind 
to  certain  qualifications  which  I  regarded  as  indispen- 
sable to  the  forming  of  any  engagement. 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  was  determined  that  his  re- 
ligious views  must  coincide  with  mine.  He  must  be 
a  sincere  Christian;  not  a  nominal  one,  or  a  mere  church 


VIEWS  ON  COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.    135 

member,  but  truly  converted  to  God.  It  is  probably  1853, 
not  too  much  to  say,  that  so  far  as  professedly  relig-  ^^  ^^' 
ious  people  are  concerned,  three-fourths  of  the  matri- 
monial misery  endured  is  brought  upon  themselves 
by  the  neglect  of  this  principle.  Those  who  do,  at 
least  in  a  measure,  love  God  and  try  to  serve  Him, 
form  alliances  with  those  who  have  no  regard  for  His 
laws,  and  who  practically,  if  not  avowedly,  live  as 
though  He  had  no  existence.  Marriage  is  a  Divine 
institution,  and  in  order  to  ensure  at  any  rate  the 
highest  and  most  lasting  happiness,  the  persons  who 
enter  into  it  must  first  of  all  themselves  be  in  the 
Divine  plan.  For  if  a  man  or  woman  be  not  able  to 
restrain  and  govern  their  own  natures,  how  can  they 
reasonably  expect  to  control  the  nature  of  another? 
If  his  or  her  being  is  not  in  harmony  with  itself,  how 
can  it  be  in  harmony  with  that  of  anybody  else  ? 

"  Thousands  of  Christians,  women  especially,  have  a  sad  ex- 
proved  by  bitter  experience  that  neither  money,  po-   p^^^^^^^- 
sition,  nor  any  other  worldly  advantage  has  availed 
to  prevent  the   punishment    that  invariably  attends 
disobedience  to  the  command,  '  Be  not  unequally  yoked 
together  with  unbelievers.' 

"  The  second  essential  which  I  resolved  upon  was    Simiiar- 

^ty  of 
that  he  should  be  a  man  of  sense.     I   knew  that   I    charac- 

could  never  respect  a  fool,  or  one  much  weaker  men- 
tally than  myself.  Many  imagine  that  because  a 
person  is  converted,  that  is  all  that  is  required.  This 
is  a  great  mistake.  There  ought  to  be  a  similarity 
or  congeniality  of  character  as  well  as  of  grace.  As 
a  dear  old  man,  whom  I  often  quote,  once  said,  'When 
thou  choosest  a  companion  for  life,  choose  one  with 
whom  thou  couldst  live  without  grace,  lest  he  lose  it!' 

"  The  third  essential  consisted  of  oneness  of  views    Oneness 

O  T     VtBIVS 

and  tastes,  any  idea  of  lordship  or  ownership  being 


136 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1853, 
Age  24. 

The  law 
of  love. 


Mutual 

give  and 

take. 


No  physi- 
cal repug- 
nance. 


An  ab- 
stainer 
from  con- 
viction. 


Certain 
prefer- 
ences. 


lost  in  love.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Jesus  Christ 
intended,  by  making  love  the  law  of  marriage,  to  re- 
store woman  to  the  position  God  intended  her  to  oc- 
cupy, as  also  to  destroy  the  curse  of  the  fall,  which 
man  by  dint  of  his  merely  superior  physical  strength 
and  advantageous  position  had  magnified,  if  not  really 
to  a  large  extent  manufactured.  Of  course  there 
must  and  will  be  mutual  yielding  wherever  there  is 
proper  love,  because  it  is  a  pleasure  and  a  joy  to  yield 
our  own  wills  to  those  for  whom  we  have  real  affection, 
whenever  it  can  be  done  with  an  approving  con- 
science. This  is  just  as  true  with  regard  to  man  as 
to  woman,  and  if  we  have  never  proved  it  individually 
during  married  life,  most  of  us  have  had  abundant 
evidence  of  it  at  any  rate  during  courting  days. 

"  For  the  same  reason  neither  party  should  attempt 
to  force  an  alliance  where  there  exists  a  physical  re- 
pugnance. Natural  instinct  in  this  respect  is  usually 
too  strong  for  reason,  and  asserts  itself  in  after  life 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  both  supremely  miserable, 
although,  on  the  other  hand,  nothing  can  be  more 
absurd  than  a  union  founded  on  attractions  of  a  mere 
physical  character,  or  on  the  more  showy  and  shallow 
mental  accomplishments  that  usually  first  strike  the 
eye  of  a  stranger. 

"  Another  resolution  that  I  made  was  that  I  would 
never  marry  a  man  who  was  not  a  total  abstainer,  and 
this  from  conviction,  and  not  merely  in  order  to  grat- 
ify me. 

"  Besides  these  things,  which  I  looked  upon  as  be- 
ing absolutely  essential,  I  had,  like  most  people, 
certain  preferences.  The  first  was  that  the  object  of 
my  choice  should  be  a  minister,  feeling  that  as  his 
wife  I  could  occupy  the  highest  possible  sphere  of 
Christian    usefulness.     Then    I    very   much    desired 


Mr.  Mumford. 


VIEWS  ON  COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.    137 

that  he  should  be  dark  and  tall,  and  had  a  special  1853, 
liking  for  the  name 'William.'  Singularly  enough,  in 
adhering  to  my  essentials,  my  fancies  were  also  grati- 
fied, and  in  my  case  the  promise  was  certainly  fulfilled, 
'  Delight  thyself  in  the  Lord  and  He  shall  give  thee 
the  desires  of  thy  heart. ' 

"  There  were  also  certain  rules  which  I  formulated  -Rw'^s  for 

.  .  married 

for  my  married  life,  before  I  was  married  or  even  en-       life. 
gaged.     I  have  carried  them  out  ever  since  my  wed- 
ding day,  and  the  experience  of  all  these  years  has 
abundantly  demonstrated  their  value. 

"  The  first  was,  never  to  have  any  secrets  from  my        ^Vo 
husband  in  anything  that  affected  our  mutual  relation-     secret^. 
ship,  or  the  interests  of  the  family.     The  confidence 
of  others  in  spiritual  matters  I  did  not  consider  as 
coming  under  this  category,  but  as  being  the  secrets 
of  others,  and  therefore  not  my  property. 

"  The  second  rule  was,  never  to  have  two  purses,  thus       One 
avoiding  even  the  temptation  of  having  any  secrets 
of  a  domestic  character. 

"  My  third  principle  was  that,  in  matters  where  there  Unity  of 
was  any  difference  of  opinion,  I  would  show  my  hus- 
band my  views  and  the  reasons  on  which  they  were 
based,  and  try  to  convince  in  favour  of  my  way  of 
looking  at  the  subject.  This  generally  resulted  either 
in  his  being  converted  to  my  views,  or  in  my  being 
converted  to  his,  either  result  securing  unity  of 
thought  and  action. 

"  My  fourth  rule  was,  in  cases  of  difference  of  opin-  No  argu- 

,-     1  1  -1  1  T    "'9'  before 

ion  never  to  argue  m  the  presence  of  the  children.  I  the 
thought  it  better  even  to  submit  at  the  time  to  what 
I  might  consider  as  mistaken  judgment,  rather  than 
have  a  controversy  before  them.  But  of  course 
when  such  occasions  arose,  I  took  the  first  opportunity 
for  arguing  the  matter  out.     My  subsequent  experi- 


children. 


138  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1853,      ence  has  abundantly  proved  to  me  the  wisdom  of  this 
Age  24. 

course. 

The  How  God  blessed  a  union  formed  on  such  rational 

principles,  and  in  such  obvious  harmony  with  His 
highest  designs,  the  following  narrative  will  in  some 
degree  disclose.  The  value,  too,  of  acting  on  principle 
rather  than  according  to  the  dictates  of  mere  emotion, 
or  the  passing  influences  of  the  hour,  has  been  strik- 
ingly manifested,  not  only  in  Mrs.  Booth's  own  case, 
but  in  the  happy  marriages  of  her  children.  And  the 
world  has  thus  been  furnished  with  object-lessons  of 
what  unions  so  entered  upon  may  accomplish.  In 
fulfilling  the  highest  purposes  of  God,  none  can  fail  to 
advance  their  own  best  interests,  whilst  they  extract 
from  their  sorrows  that  peculiar  sting,  the  realisation 
that  they  have  been  self-inflicted. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    GENERAL'S    JOURNAL    AND    THE 
METHODIST  NEW  CONNEXION.     1853. 

General  Booth  as  the  first  Salvation  Army  Cap-    The  first 
tain  in  charge  of  his  first  Corps  is  too  tempting  a  pic-  ^^^rmy^ 
ture  to  pass  by.     Indeed  we  can   hardly  do  justice  to    Captain. 
the  early  days  of  his  future  Lieutenant-for-life  with- 
out some  description  of  the  Captain  in  this  his  first 
independent  command.     To  Salvationists  all  over  the 
world,  and  in  all  ages,  the  story  of  the  early  struggles 
and  remarkable  achievements  of  the  founders  of  the 
movement  must  ever  possess  a  peculiar  charm.     And 
although  our  narrative,  strictly  speaking,  concerns  but 
one,  nevertheless  the  lives  of  both  are  henceforth  so 
intertwined,  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  refer  to  the 
one  in  describing  the  other. 

The  Reformers  having  broken  loose  from  the  au-     ^o  cen- 

^  tral  con- 

thority  of  the  Wesleyan  Conference,  without  having  troi. 
formed  any  central  government  of  their  own,  each 
circuit,  like  Israel  of  old,  did  very  much  what  seemed 
good  in  their  own  eyes.  Hence,  so  far  as  any  supe- 
rior authority  was  concerned,  Mr.  Booth  found  him- 
self practically  unfettered.  From  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  his  flock  he  had  met  with,  as  we  have  already 
learned,  an  unusually  warm-hearted  reception.  They 
were  justly  proud  of  his  talents,  and  still  more  grat- 
ified with  his  success.  Wherever  he  went  souls  were 
saved.  Indeed,  from  the  first,  he  could  not  tolerate  afl^uits. 
a  ministry  destitute  of  results,  and  felt  as  if  some- 

139 


I40  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1853,  thing  must  be  wrong  unless  there  were  penitents  at 
^^  ^^'  every  meeting.  The  aim  of  all  his  services  was  to 
force  his  hearers  to  immediate  decision  on  the  life- 
and-death  subjects  affecting  their  eternal  welfare. 
The  example  of  Caughey,  the  teachings  of  Finney, 
the  life  and  writings  of  John  Wesley,  and  the  labours 
of  other  successful  evangelists  were  burnt  in  upon  his 
soul.  He  realised  that  the  same  Holy  Spirit  which  had 
inspired  them  was  able  through  him  to  accomplish 
similar  results.  And  before  long  his  most  sanguine 
expectations  were  more  than  realised. 
Extracts        r^^  g-ive  a  detailed  account  of  Mr.  Booth's  labours 

from  his  o 

earliest     {^  Spaldingf  must  be  reserved  for  some  future  histo- 

joiirnal.  ^  ^ 

rian,  but  a  few  extracts  from  his  earliest  journal  will 
be  read  with  interest,  and  must  serve  as  a  specimen 
of  the  rest : 

"  3d  November,  1853. — I  have  to-day  given  myself  afresh  to 
God.  On  my  knees  I  have  been  promising  Him  that  if  He  will 
help  me,  I  will  aim  only  at  souls,  and  live  and  die  for  their 
salvation.  1  feel  a  delightful  and  soul-cheering  victory  over 
what  has  often  been  of  late  very  severe  temptation. 

"Wednesday,  12th  November,  1853.— Two  souls  weeping 
very  bitterly.  I  never  saw  persons  in  deeper  distress.  From 
about  eight  until  half-past  ten  they  wept  incessantly  on  ac- 
count of  their  sins. 

"Sunday,  i6th  November. — In  the  morning  very  large 
congregation.  Very  little  liberty,  but  good  was  done,  as  I 
afterward  learned. 

"  Evening. — Liberty  in  preaching.  Fourteen  persons  came 
forward,  many,  if  not  all,  of  whom  found  the  Saviour.  Praise 
the  Lord !" 

Bringing        Mr.  Booth's  custom  was  to  invite  the  anxious  to 

JiouhTo  a  come  forward  to  the  communion-rail,    thus  publicly 

decision,    signifying  their  desire  to  serve  God.     This  custom 

has  .since  been  followed  in  the  Salvation  Army  with 

glorious  results,  and  has  no  doubt  brought  thousands 


THE  GENERALS  JOURNAL.  141 

to    a    definite    decision,  who    would    otherwise    have'      1853, 
deferred  the  matter,  and  thus  in  many  instances  have       ^^  ^^' 
failed  to  come  to  the  point  at  all. 

"Monday. — Preaching  at  Spalding.  Good  congregation. 
Four  came  forward,  two  of  whom  professed  to  find  Jesus.  I 
exerted  myself  very  much  in  the  prayer-meeting,  and  felt 
very  deeply.  L  prayed  very  earnestly  over  an  old  man,  who 
had  been  a  backslider  seven  years.  He  cried  a  great  deal  and 
prayed,  'O  Lord,  if  Thou  canst  wash  a  heart  as  black  as 
hell,  save  me!'  By  exerting  myself  so  much  I  became  very 
ill,  and  could  not  leave  the  house  for  the  rest  of  the  week. 

Sunday,  23d  November. — I  started  from  home  rather  un- 
well. Mr.  Shadford  begged  me  to  tell  the  people  I  was  ill, 
and  said  they  would  readily  understand  it  by  the  sight  of  my 
haggard  appearance.  I  was  planned  at  Donnington  for  morn- 
ing and  night  and  Swineshead  Bridge  for  the  afternoon.  At 
night  the  Lord  helped  me  to  preach,  and  fourteen  came  out. 
Many  more  sought  Jesus,  but  fourteen  names  were  taken  as  Fourteen 
having  found  Him.  It  was  indeed  a  very  precious  meeting —  mJ^cy 
a  melting,  moving  time.     May  God  keep  them  faithful ! 

"  Monday,  Swineshead  Bridge. — Here  I  was  to  preach  three 
nights,  with  a  view  to  promoting  a  revival.  Many  things 
seemed  against  us  and  our  project,  but  the  Lord  was  for  us. 
After  the  preaching,  two  came  out  for  mercy,  and  the  Lord 
saved  them  both.  This  raised  our  faith  and  cheered  our 
spirits,  especially  as  there  were  several  more  in  distress. 

"Tuesday. — Congregation  better.  The  news  had  flown 
that  the  Lord  was  saving,  and  this  seldom  fails  to  bring  a 
crowd.  The  word  of  the  Lord  was  with  power,  and  six  cried 
for  mercy.  A  glorious  meeting  we  had.  I  determined  to 
stop  the  rest  of  the  week  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the 
people." 

In  a  later  entry  Mr.  Booth  adds : 

"  During  the  remainder  of  the  time  many  more  sought  sal-     The  best 
vation.     I  shall  always  meditate  with  pleasure  on  the  week    ^^^ 
I  spent  at  Swineshead  Bridge.     I  prayed  and  preached  with 
more  of  the  expectation  of  faith,  and  saw  greater  success  than 
I  ever  saw  in  a  week  before  during  my  history. 

"Friday,    19th    December. — Received  a  letter    from    Mr. 


142 


MUS.   BOOTH. 


1 853, 
Age  24. 


The 
Caistor 
revival. 


Thirty- 
six  for 
salvation. 


Wiggles  worth,  solicitor,  of  Donnington,  requesting  me  to 
spend  the  ensuing  week  at  Caistor,  a  small  town  about  twenty- 
miles  south  of  Hull,  he  promising  to  take  my  appointments 
in  my  own  circuit.     To  this  I  consented. 

"  Saturday,  20th  December. — I  arrived  at  Caistor  about  4  p.m. 
My  coming  was  altogether  unexpected,  but  the  bellman  was 
sent  round  the  town,  and  the  friends  did  all  they  could  to 
make  it  known. 

"  Sunday. — In  the  morning  we  had  a  salvation  meeting,  and 
I  oifered  many  reasons  why  the  members  should  join  me  in 
seeking  a  revival  in  Caistor.  We  knelt  and  gave  ourselves 
afresh  to  God. 

"Afternoon. — The  place  was  crowded.  The  singing  was 
delightful.  The  people  wept,  and  conviction  seized  many 
hearts,  which  ended  in  conversion. 

"  Night. — One  of  the  most  glorious  services  I  ever  held.  I 
did  not  preach  with  much  liberty,  but  there  was  power  and 
feeling,  and  in  the  prayer-meeting  many  cried  for  salvation. 

"  Every  night  the  place  was  full,  sometimes  densely  crowded. 
Thirty-six  found  salvation.  Among  others  the  following  was 
an  interesting  case :  Mr.  Joseph  Wigglesworth,  the  brother  of 
the  gentleman  who  prevailed  on  me  to  come  to  Caistor,  at- 
tended the  morning  meeting.  I  found  he  was  then  deeply 
wrought  upon.  He  came  in  the  afternoon  and  wept.  At 
night  I  spoke  to  him.  He  had  for  years  enjoyed  the  Methodist 
privileges — nay,  from  infancy  he  had  been  blessed  with  a 
religious  training.  Yet  he  was  unsaved,  and  could  never  be 
prevailed  upon  to  come  to  a  prayer-meeting.  I  talked  to  him 
about  the  importance  of  decision.  He  broke  down,  came 
boldly  to  the  penitent-form,  and  with  many  tears  and  prayers, 
sought  and  obtained  forgiveness.  It  was  a  splendid  case  and 
did  us  all  good." 


A  month  later  Mr.  Booth  visited  Caistor  a  second 
time,  and  writes: 


A  second 
visit. 


"  I  left  Spalding  for  Caistor,  where  I  had  promised  to  spend 
another  week.  The  friends  were  well,  and  very  pleased  to 
see  me. 

"  Sunday. — We  held  in  the  morning  a  precious  meeting. 
Only  two  out  of  the  thirty-six,  who  had  found  the  Lord  during 


THE  GENERALS  JOURNAL. 


H3 


i8S3, 
Age  24. 


Seventy - 
six  more. 


my  previous  visit,  had  gone  back  to  the  beggarly  elements  of 
the  world. 

"  Afternoon  and  evening  I  preached  in  the  Independent 
chapel,  which  had  long  been  closed.  The  many  fears  we 
had  indulged  with  regard  to  the  congregation  were  dispersed 
when  we  saw  it  comfortably  filled  in  the  afternoon.  In  the 
evening  we  had  a  most  triumphant  meeting.  God  was  with 
us  eminently.  I  at  once  promised  to  stay  the  whole  of  the 
week. 

"  I  wrote  a  bill  which  we  got  printed  and  taken  to  every 
house  in  Caistor  and  the  surrounding  villages.  The  result 
was  a  glorious  harvest.  Seventy-six  were  saved  during  the 
week,  and  I  only  left  them  under  a  promise  to  return  the  next 
week  but  one.     The  whole  town  was  in  a  ferment. 

"Saturday,  February  7th,  Caistor. — Returned  here  for  an- 
other week. 

"  Sunday. — Not  so  successful,  although  the  congregations 
were  overflowing. 

"  Monday  night. — A  good  time  and  many  saved. 

"Friday. — Every  night  many  souls  saved.  To-night  the 
influence  was  overwhelming.  The  parting  with  this  dear 
people  was  very  painful.  I  had  never  experienced  anything 
approaching  to  the  success  with  which  God  crowned  my 
labors  here ;  I  found  them  a  poor,  despised  people,  meeting  in 
an  old  upper  room,  with  about  thirty-five  members,  and  I  left 
them  with  over  two  hundred  members  in  a  good  roomy 
chapel,  full  of  spirits,  and  very  many  precious  souls  all  over 
the  town  under  deep  conviction.  May  God  take  care  of  them 
and  guide  them  safe  to  Heaven,  and  may  I  meet  them  there !" 

But  although  his  labours  were  attended  with  such        The 

ii-i-i  11  -i-inT-         T.T         r       1    Methodist 

multiplied  success,  nevertheless  both  Miss  Mum  ford  New  Con- 
and  Mr.  Booth  felt  that  it  was  high  time  either  for  '^^^"^^ 
the  Reform  movement  to  become  crystallised  into  a 
united  organisation  of  its  own,  with  a  distinctive  gov- 
ernment whose  authority  would  be  acknowledged  by 
all,  or,  failing  this,  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  Mr. 
Booth  to  attach  himself  to  some  church  which  an- 
swered to  this  description.  It  so  happened  that  at 
this  very  period  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Meth- 


.4  re- 
markable 
change. 


144 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i8S3, 
Age  24. 


Its  origin. 


Family 
likeness. 


Doctrines 
identical. 


The  burn- 
ing ques- 
tion. 


Further 
assimila- 
tion. 


odist  New  Connexion,  which  to  his  mind  appeared 
admirably  fitted  to  the  requirements  of  the  Reform- 
ers, combining  a  liberal  government  with  Wesleyan 
doctrine.  Here  was  the  very  opportunity  for  which 
Mr.  Booth  had  so  long  looked,  and  he  conceived  the 
bold  idea  of  not  only  joining  them  himself  but  of  urg- 
ing the  entire  body  to  do  the  same. 

The  Methodist  New  Connexion  is  the  first-born  of 
the  numerous  Wesleyan  progeny,  to  which  the  parent 
organisation  gave  birth  after  the  death  of  its  founder 
in  1 79 1.  It  is  no  small  testimony  to  the  creative  gen- 
ius of  Wesley  that  each  member  of  the  family  is 
almost  a  facsimile  of  the  rest.  Indeed  the  doctrines 
are  identically  those  which  he  formulated.  His  rich 
hymnology  and  peculiar  nomenclature  have  also  been 
preserved  intact.  It  has  only  been  on  questions  of 
church  government,  similar  to  those  which  gave  rise 
to  the  Reform  agitation,  that  differences  of  opinion 
and  consequent  divisions  have  arisen.  Indeed  in 
not  a  few  instances  it  would  puzzle  any  outsider,  not 
thoroughly  versed  in  all  the  subtle  distinctions  of 
Methodistic  polity,  to  say  wherein  the  various 
branches  of  that  body  differ,  or  to  which  the  palm  of 
superiority  may  fairly  be  ascribed. 

During  the  last  few  years  there  has  been  a  strongly 
marked  tendency  to  still  further  assimilate,  and  it 
seems  within  the  range  of  possibility  that  the  union 
of  the  Methodist  bodies  which  has  already  taken  place 
in  Canada  may  be  succeeded  by  a  world-wide  con- 
solidation, which  would  doubtless  strengthen  the  po- 
sition of  Wesleyanism  and  place  it  numerically  at  the 
head  of  Protestant  Christendom,  although  historically 
of  so  recent  origin.  It  would  certainly  be  a  remark- 
able coincidence  if  such  a  reunion  were  based,  as 
seems  not  improbable,  on  the  very  principles  which 


THE  GENERALS  JOURNAL. 


145 


led  to  the  secession  of  1791.  The  gulf  which  divided 
the  orthodox  party  from  the  dissentients  then  has 
since  been  bridged  by  the  concession  of  nearly  every- 
thing which  was  at  that  time  refused. 

The  links  which  bound  John  Wesley's  followers 
to  the  Church  of  England  have  long  since  been 
broken.  At  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  their  po- 
sition resembled  very  closely  the  present  semi- 
independence  of  the  various  missionary  societies,  save 
that  the  national  clergy  were  then  far  less  tolerant  of 
anything  out  of  the  beaten  track  than  they  are  now. 
How  far  the  germs  of  ultimate  separation  exist  in 
these  more  recent  developments  of  Church  activity 
would  form  an  interesting  subject  for  speculation,  but 
for  this  we  have  neither  time  nor  space. 

The  question,  as  it  concerned  John  Wesley's  or- 
ganisation, had  even  during  his  lifetime  given  rise  to 
burning  discussions.  He  had,  however,  set  his  face 
like  a  flint  against  all  proposals  for  separiation.  His 
"  travelling  preacher"  had  not  been  allowed  to  admin- 
ister the  sacraments.  Meetings  were  not  held  during 
the  hours  of  "  Divine  service"  in  the  national  church. 
And  Wesley  discouraged  generally  the  assumption  of 
ministerial  titles,  or  priestly  functions. 

On  this  and  other  questions  the  Annual  Conference 
of  Preachers,  which  had  been  bound  together  hitherto 
by  his  strong  personality,  became  divided  after  his 
death.  Some  were  desirous  of  adhering  rigidly  to 
their  venerated  founder's  policy,  while  others  con- 
tended for  the  introduction  of  such  alterations  as 
might  from  time  to  time  appear  advisable. 

Among  the  most  prominent  of  the  latter  party  was 
a  young  preacher-  named  Alexander  Kilham,  who 
spoke  strongly  on  behalf  of  reform,  publishing  sev- 
eral pamphlets  on  the  subject.     The  principal  changes 


1853, 
Age  24. 


Broken 
links. 


Wesley 
opposed 
to  separa- 
tion. 


Differ- 
ences of 
opinion. 


Alex- 
ander 
Kilham. 


146  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1853,  which  he  advocated  were,  that  the  travelling  preachers 
^^  ^^'  should  be  authorised  to  administer  the  sacraments, 
and  that  the  laity  should  have  equal  power  with  the 
ministry  in  the  government  of  the  organisation.  He 
supported  his  arguments  by  casting  serious  reflections 
on  the  existing  management  of  affairs,  and  by  alleging 
that  abuses  had  already  arisen,  which  he  believed 
could  only  be  effectually  dealt  with  by  introducing 
delegates  from  the  laity  both  into  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence and  into  the  district  meetings. 

His  ex-         Por  these  publications   Kilham  wa§  tried  and  ex- 
pulsion. 

pelled  in  1796.     This  led  to  his  publishing  a  monthly 

pamphlet  which  was  styled  the  MctJwdist  Monitor,  and 
which  developed  two  years  later  into  the  Methodist  Nciu 
Connexion  Magazine,  for  the  purpose  of  advocating 
his  views.  Mr.  Kilham  still  nourished  a  hope  that 
the  Conference  would  ultimately  grant  the  concessions 
for  which  he  and  his  friends  had  asked.  But  in  this 
he  was  disappointed,  and  it  soon  became  clear  that 
nothing  further  was  to  be  expected,  especially  in  re- 
gard to  the  question  of  lay  representation. 
Forma-  The  first  step  taken  toward  a  separation  was  the 
thTNew  purchase  of  Ebenezer  Chapel  in  Leeds  from  the  Bap- 
nexion.  tists.  This  was  opened  in  May,  1797,  Mr.  Kilham 
conducting  the  services.  The  Conference  met  in 
July,  when  a  final,  but  abortive,  effort  was  made  to 
induce  them  to  reconsider  their  decision.  The  fail- 
ure of  this  attempt  led  to  the  resignation  of  three 
more  ministers,  who  united  with  Mr.  Kilham  and  a 
few  other  friends  at  Ebenezer  Chapel  in  establishing 
the  New  Connexion.  The  outlines  of  a  constitution 
were  agreed  upon  in  accordance  with  the  views  ad- 
vocated by  Mr.  Kilham,  who  became  the  secretary  of 
the  organisation,  while  the  Rev.  Thorn,  one  of  the 
dissentient  ministers,  was  elected  its  first  president. 


THE  GENERAL'S  JOURNAL.  147 

The  principle  of  lay  representation    round  which      1853, 
the  controversy  most  fiercely  raged,  and  which  be-       ^^  ^'^' 
came  the  chief  plank  in  the  platform  of  the  New  Con-    Lay  rep- 
nexion,  has  since  beeil  adopted  with  certain  modifica-     ^^uon? 
tions  by  every  branch  of  Wesleyanism,  and  it  seems 
not  unlikely  that  if  there  ever  should  be  a  general 
amalgamation,  it  will  take  place  on  the  lines  laid  down 
by  this  earliest  reform  movement.     One  is  tempted 
to  speculate  as  to  the  possible  history  of   a   united 
Methodism  during  the  past  hundred  years,  had  the 
suggestions    of   young    Kilham    been    at   the    outset 
adopted.      But  perhaps  the  Society  was  not  then  pre- 
pared for  changes  of  so  radical  a  character. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  organisation  with  which    Position 
Mr.  Booth  proposed  that  the  Reformers  should  iden-  jhiencT'of 
tify  themselves.     It  was  not  then,  nor  is  it  now,  one  ^  ment^^' 
of  the  most  numerically  important  branches  of  the 
Methodist  family.   Its  position,  however,  should  not  be 
estimated  by  this,  so  much  as  by  the  influence  it  exer- 
cised in  shaping  the  subsequent  policy  both  of  the 
parent  stock  and  of  the  younger  branches  of  the  family, 
occupying  as  it  has  continued  from  the  first  to  do  a 
medium  position  between  the  extreme  conservatism 
of  the  former  and  the  ultra-radicalism  of  some  mem- 
bers of  the  latter. 

To  amalgamate  the    Reformers  with  this    church    Proposed 

-,  1   .  -        .  -  .         .  amalffa- 

seemed  to  him  preierable  to  constituting  a  separate  mation  of 
organisation  of  their  own,  since  they  would  obtain  all    formers. 
the  privileges  which  had  been  denied  them  by  the 
parent  church,  without  having  to  encounter  the  delay 
and  difficulties  which  must  necessarily  attend  the  op- 
posite course.      To  manufacture  a  strong  government 
out  of  elements  so  discordant,  so  heterogeneous  and 
so  unadhesive  would,  he  felt,  be  extremely  difficult,      us  ad- 
Whereas  if  the  fragments  were   thrown    into  a  pot  ^"*^'"9'^«- 


148 


AIRS.  BOOTH. 


i8S3. 
Age  24. 


His  desire 
to  termi- 
nate the 
dispute. 


The  sub- 
ject 
broached. 


which  had  already  some  cohesion  of  its  own,  the 
law-abiding  portions  could  be  melted  down,  so  to 
speak,  into  one  consistent  mass,  while  the  disorderly 
elements  could  more  easily  be  eliminated,  and  would 
at  any  rate  be  less  likely  to  do  harm.  Besides,  why 
waste  time  over  building  up  a  facsimile  of  what  already 
existed,  when  the  original  combined  at  the  same  time 
both  the  stability  and  elasticity  which  seemed  de- 
sirable ? 

Above  all,  Mr.  Booth  longed  to  put  an  end  to  the 
interminable  disputations  and  argumentations  which 
seemed  to  be  fast  sapping  the  vitality  and  spirituality 
of  the  Reformers.  How  could  souls  be  saved  under 
such  conditions,  and  how  could  those  who  were  saved 
be  made  into  saints  and  soldiers,  if,  instead  of  the 
sincere  milk  of  the  word,  they  were  fed  upon  dry 
discussions,  or  if  when  they  cried  for  bread,  they  were 
offered  a  barren  theory  ? 

Once  decided  as  to  the  right  course  of  action,  it  only 
remained  to  settle  the  modus  operandi.  The  principal 
organ  of  the  Reformers  was,  as  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, the  Wcshyan  Times.  The  subject  was  accord- 
ingly broached  by  Mr.  Booth  in  its  columns,  and  some 
correspondence  ensued.  Nor  were  the  leaders  of  the 
New  Connexion  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  this  fa- 
vourable opportunity.  During  the  Annual  Conference, 
which  held  its  sitting  in  May,  at  Longton,  in  the 
Staffordshire  Potteries,  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted  and  published  in  the   Wesleyan  Times: 


The  reso- 
lution 
published 

by  the 
New  Con- 
nexion. 


"  That  the  Conference  feels  deeply  concerned  at  the  un- 
happy differences  which  have  so  long  prevailed  in  the 
Wesleyan  family,  and  would  rejoice  to  see  the  brethren  who 
are  contending  for  a  more  liberal  system  of  Church  govern- 
ment, directing  their  attention  to  some  practical  course, 
whereby  they  may  attain  that  object,  and  thus  restore  peace 


THE  GENERAL'S  JOURNAL.  I4g 

and  prosperity  to  the  Methodist  bodies.  That  the  Conference  1853, 
has  too  much  sympathy  with  all  Christians,  who  hold  the  same  ^S^  24, 
doctrines  and  entertain  similar  views  of  Church  government 
with  itself,  to  be  indifferent  to  their  welfare,  and  having 
taken  no  part  in  the  recent  struggle,  it  would  rejoice  at  some 
healing  measure  being  adopted,  whereby  friendly  relations 
might  be  brought  about  between  the  parties.  Where  that 
cannot  be  accomplished,  to  those  who  desire  to  unite  with  us 
on  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  Connexion,  the  Confer- 
ence would  give  the  right  hand  of  fellowship."  * 

In  the  following  year  the  secretary  for  the  Reform    Further 
Committee  opened  up  communications  with  the  presi-    ^^7ions' 
dent  of  the  Methodist  New  Connexion  as  to  the  pos- 
sibility of  amalgamating  the  two  bodies.     The  latter 
replied  that  they  would  be    glad  to  consider  any  pro- 
posals for  doing  so  on  the  basis  of  their  own  consti- 
tution, but  declined  to  make  any  alterations  in  it,  to 
suit   the    more   democratic  tastes  of  the   Reformers. 
Hence  the  negotiations  fell  through,  and  although  a       fail 
considerable  number  of  the  Reform  societies  attached    '  **'''"S'''- 
themselves  to  the  Connexion,  the  bulk  of  that  body 
united  themselves  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Asso- 
ciation, which   assumed   the    name   of   the    "  United   The  u.  m. 

F.  c 
Methodist  Free  Churches,"  adhering  as  usual  to  the 

Wesleyan  formula  of  doctrine,  but  adopting,  as  the 
name  signified,  a  more  congregational  form  of  govern- 
ment. Meanwhile  Mr.  Booth  had  opened  up  a  cor- 
respondence with  Dr.  Cooke,  one  of  the  leading 
ministers,  and  an  ex-president  of  the  New  Connexion, 
from  whom  he  received  the  following  reply : 

"3  Crescent,  Albany  Road,  May  28th,  1853. 
"  My  Dear  Sir: — Your  favour  found  me  at  the  Conference     -f  '^'^^T, 
from   which  I  am  but  just  returned,  and  being  now  almost      Cooke. 
overwhelmed  with  the  pressure  of  duties  prior  to  the  publica- 
tion of  our  minutes,  I  can  command  time  to  answer  only  one 

*Wesleyati  Times,  30th  May,  1853.  p.   340. 


156  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1853,  portion  of  your  letter.  I  think  it  not  unlikely  that  a  formal 
Age  24,  application  from  yovi  to  our  president  for  the  year,  Rev.  J. 
Hudson,  of  Huddersfield,  would  result  in  your  reception  as  a 
minister  in  our  body.  At  the  same  time  the  usage  of  four 
years' probation  would  undoubtedly  be  applied  to  you,  just 
as  strictly  as  it  is  to  those  candidates  who  are  chosen  from  our 
own  ranks,  and  who  are  well  known  to  us.  I  fully  sympathise 
with  your  views  and  feelings  as  to  the  desirableness  of  a 
union  of  the  Reformers  with  our  body.  It  would  present  to 
them  a  home  of  peace  and  rational,  scriptural  freedom,  with 
institutions  of  various  kinds  already  established  and  in  pros- 
perous operation. 

"  Praying  that  the  Lord  may  direct  and  prosper  you,  I  am, 
dear  sir, 

"  Yours  in  haste,  but  very  respectfully, 

"  William  Cooke." 

Mr.  Booth       Having-  prepared  the  way  by  a  careful  study  of  the 

addresses  a  r      r  j       j  j 

hiscir-  New  Connexion  system,  and  by  getting  into  touch 
''^" '  with  some  of  its  leading  spirits,  Mr.  Booth  now 
broached  the  subject  at  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the 
office-bearers  of  his  own  circuit,  proposing  that,  with- 
out waiting  for  the  action  of  the  entire  body,  they 
should  themselves  take  immediate  measures  for  amal- 
gamation. Although  strongly  supported  by  some  of 
but  fails    the  most  influential  persons  present,  the  motion  was 

to  carry  -r  ir  ' 

thejH  and  lost,  and  failing  to    carry    his    people    with    him,  Mr. 

resolves  to  o  ^  x        i 

go  over     Booth  announced  to  them  his  resolution  to  go  over 

alone. 

alone. 
Hispeopie       This  dccisiou  was  received  by  his  people  with  un- 

remon-        ... 

strate.     feigned  regret,  and  many  efforts  were  put  forth  to 

induce  him  to  remain.      He  was  offered  the  privilege 

of   immediate    marriage,  together  with    a    furnished 

home,  and  a  horse,  and  a  trap  to  enable  him  to  visit 

distant    places.     To   this   pressure    he    might    have 

Miss      yielded,  had  not  Miss  Mumford  thrown  her  influence 

f^a's     i^t*^   the   opposite   scale.     The   inviting  career  of  a 

firmness,    couutry  parsou,  she  argued,  combined  though  it  might 


THE   GENERALS  JOURNAL.  15  i 

be  with  the  tempting  prospect  of  domestic  bliss,  would      1853, 
not  alter  the   fact  that  the  time  so  spent  would  prob-       ^^   '** 
ably  be  thrown  away,  and  that  he  would  be  compelled 
to  do  in  the  end  what  could  more  easily  and  profit- 
ably be  done  now. 

There  was  another  course  open  to  Mr.  Booth,  which  Another 
had  for  him  special  attractions,  and  which  not  a  few 
of  his  friends  strongly  urged  upon  him,  and  that  was 
to  work  as  a  revival  preacher,  independently  of  all 
organisations.  Himself  born  and  cradled  in  a  revival, 
with  the  stirring  examples  of  Caughey  and  Finney 
fresh  in  his  mind,  he  had  a  strong  leaning  to  a  career 
so  much  in  accordance  with  his  tastes  and  aspirations. 
He  was,  however,  satisfied  that  even  as  an  evangelist 
his  work  would  be  of  a  more  permanent  character, 
and  his  converts  better  looked  after,  if  he  laboured 
in  connexion  with  some  already  established  organisa- 
tion, rather  than  by  playing  the  part  of  a  religious 
free-lance.  Besides,  there  would  be  the  assurance, 
in  joining  the  New  Connexion,  of  a  renewal  for  at 
least  some  few  months  of  his  much-interrupted 
studies. 

Miss  Mumford  strongly  favoured  this  view  of  the  Decides  to 
matter,  and  it  was  accordingly  settled  that  early  in  Neiv^Con- 
1854  he  should  enter  the  Methodist  New  Connexion,     »«^*'«''- 
studying  for  six  months  under  Dr.  Cooke's  personal 
supervision,  and  offering  himself  for  their  ministry 
at   the    ensuing    Conference,  when    there  was   every 
reason  to  believe  he  would  be  accepted. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CORRESPONDENCE    AND    CONFLICTS.— 1854. 


The  con- 
troversy 
renewed. 


A  firm,  be- 
liever in 
consecu- 
tive effort. 


His  sub- 
sequent 
views. 


The 
General 
writes  to 
Miss 
Mum- 
ford. 


The  decision  to  enter  the  New  Connexion  had 
scarcely  been  arrived  at,  when  the  revivals  at  Swines- 
head  Bridge  and  Caistor  occurred,  leading  to  a  re- 
newal of  the  vexed  question  as  to  the  evangelistic 
sphere.  Indeed,  but  for  the  fact  that  he  had  pledged 
his  word,  and  that  Miss  Mumford  was  so  convinced 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  step,  Mr.  Booth  would  in  all 
probability  have  launched  forth  on  an  itinerant  career. 
Not  that  he  favoured  a  mere  roving  life.  On  the 
contrary,  he  has  always  been  a  firm  believer  in  con- 
secutive effort.  But  observing  the  tendency  of  the 
church  to  stagnation,  he  thought  the  evil  might  be 
largely  remedied  by  visiting  the  various  centres,  and 
holding  a  protracted  series  of  meetings,  thus  ingather- 
ing a  multitude  of  souls,  and  infusing  a  spirit  of  zeal 
and  enterprise  among  Christians. 

Forty  years  have  passed  since  first  his  heart  was 
drawn  toward  such  work.  Standing  in  the  sunset  of 
a  triumphant  career,  his  views  remain  unchanged, 
and  although  the  oversight  of  the  vast  organisation, 
which,  under  God,  he  has  raised  up,  interferes  with 
a  renewal  of  similar  toil,  he  is  comforted  in  the  fact 
that  he  has  created  for  other  labourers  a  like  op- 
portunity all  over  the  world. 

At  the  time,  however,  of  which  we  write,  the  con- 
troversy was  of  a  perplexing  character,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  letters : 

152 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND   CONFLICTS.       I53 


HoLBEACH,  January,  1854. 

"  My  Dearest  Kate: — The  plot  thickens,  and  I  hesitate  not 
to  tell  you  that  I  fear,  and  fear  much,  that  I  am  going  wrong. 

"  Yesterday  I  received  a  letter  asking  me  if  I  would  consent 
to  come  to  the  Hinde  Street  Circuit  (London  Reformers), 
salary  ^100  per  year.  I  have  also  heard  that  the  committee 
in  London  are  about  to  make  me  an  offer.  I  would  give  a 
great  deal  to  be  satisfied  as  to  the  right  path,  and  gladly 
would  I  walk  it  whether  he^e  or  there. 

"  You  see,  my  dearest,  it  is  certainly  enough  to  make  a 
fellow  think  and  tremble.  Here  I  am  at  present  in  a  circuit 
numbering  780  members,  with  an  increase  for  the  year  of 
nearly  two  hundred.  Am  invited  to  another  with  near  a  thou- 
sand. And  yet  I  am  going  to  join  a  church  with  but  150 
members  in  London,  and  a  majority  of  circuits  with  but  a 
similar  number. 

"  I  fear  that  with  all  my  cautiousness  on  this  subject  I  shall 
regret  it.  Send  me  a  kind  letter  to  reach  me  on  Friday. 
Bless  you,  a  thousand  times!  My  present  intention  is  to  tear 
myself  away  from  all  and  everything,  and  persevere  in  the 
path  I  have  chosen.  They  reckon  it  down  here  the  maddest, 
wildest,  most  premature  and  hasty  step  that  ever  they  knew 
a  saved  man  to  take. 

"  I  remain,  my  dearest  love, 

"  Your  own 

"William." 


1854, 
Age  25. 


The 
dilemma. 


To  this,  the  following  reply  was  sent  by  Miss  Mum- 
ford: 


Miss 
Mum- 
ford^  s 
reply. 


"  My  Dearest  William  : — I  have  with  a  burdened  soul  com- 
mitted the  contents  of  your  letter  to  God,  and  I  feel  persuaded 
He  will  guide  you.  I  will  just  put  down  one  or  two  consider- 
ations which  may  comfort  you. 

"  First,  then,  you  are  not  leaving  the  Reformers  because 
you  fear  you  would  not  get  another  circuit  or  as  good  a  sal- 
ary as  the  Connexion  can  offer.  You  are  leaving  because 
you  are  out  of  patience  and  sympathy  with  W.'o  principles  and  principle, 
aims,  and  because  you  believe  they  will  bring  it  to  ultimate 
destruction. 

"  Second,  you  are  not  leaving  to  secure  present  advantages, 
but  sacrificing  present  advantages  for  what  you  believe  to  be 


Acting  on 


154  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1854,  o^  ^^^'^  whole  (looking  to  the  end)  most  for  God's  glory  and 
^^^  25.  the  good  of  souls.  And  the  fact  of  Hinde  Street  offering  ^200 
would  not  alter  those  reasons.  If  it  is  right  in  principle  for 
you  to  leave  the  movement  and  join  the  Connexion,  no  advan- 
tages in  the  former  or  disadvantages  in  the  latter  can  possibly 
alter  the  thing. 
Satisfy         "  But  mind,  /  do  not  urge  you  to  do  it,  and  I  do  not  see 

your    coil-  ^^       j.    ■  ^    •      ^  ^     j_       j_  j_  i       •  r 

science,  even  now  that  it  is  too  late  to  retreat,  if  your  conscience  is 
not  satisfied  as  to  the  quality  of  your  motives.  But  I  believe 
it  ought  to  be.  I  wish  you  prayed  more  and  talked  less  about 
the  matter.  Try  it,  and  be  determined  to  get  clear  and  settled 
views  as  to  your  course.  Leave  your  heart  before  God,  and 
get  satisfied  in  His  sight,  and  then  do  it,  be  it  what  it  may.  I 
cannot  bear  the  idea  of  your  being  unhappy.  Pray  do  in 
this  as  you  feel  in  your  soul  it  will  be  right.  My  conscience 
is  no  standard  for  yours. 
Make   the       "  I  am  not  sorry  tliat  the  people  think  I  am  anxious  for  the 

act  your  -.-11  ->  1 

own.  Step.  1  Wish  them  to  understand  that  I  am  favourable  to  it. 
But  at  the  same  time  you  do  right  to  make  the  act  your  own, 
though  you  can  let  them  know  I  highly  approve  it. 

"  Oh,  if  you  come  to  London,  let  us  be  determined  to  reap  a 
blessed  harvest.  Let  our  fellowship  be  sanctified  to  our  souls' 
everlasting  good.  My  mind  is  made  up  to  do  my  part  toward 
it.  I  hope  to  be  firm  as  a  rock  on  some  points.  The  Lord 
help  me !  We  must  aim  to  improve  each  other's  minds  and 
characters.  Let  us  pray  for  grace  to  do  it  in  the  best  way  and 
to  the  fullest  extent  possible. 
Living  "  I  am  living  above.     My  soul  breathes  a  purer  atmosphere 

"  °^'^*      than  it  has  done  for  the  last  two  or  three  years.     God  lives 
and  reigns,  and  this  to  me  is  a  source  of  much  consolation. 
"  With  deepest  interest  and  sincere  affection, 

"  I  remain,  your  loving 

"  Kate," 


Another 
letter. 


Writing  again  a  few  days  later,  Miss  Mumford  says: 

"lam  very  sorry  to  find  that  you  are  still  perplexed  and 
harassed  about  the  change.  I  did  think  that  there  were  con- 
ditions weighty  enough  to  satisfy  your  own  mind  as  to  the 
propriety  of  the  step,  and  if  not  I  begged  you  not  to  act.  Even 
now  it  is  not  too  late.  Stay  at  Spalding,  and  risk  all.  Pray 
be  satisfied  in  your  own  mind.     Rather  lose  anything  than 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND   CONFLICTS.       155 

make  yourself  miserable.     You  reasoned  and  suffered  just  so       1854, 

about  leaving  the  Conference,  and  yet  you  see  it  was  right     ■^S^  25. 

now.     I  never  suffered  an  hour  about  it,  after  I  once  decided, 

except  in  the  breaking  of  some  tender  associations.     Nor  do  I     ^q^ahn. 

ever  expect  to  suffer.     I  reasoned  the  thing  out  and  came  to 

a  conclusion,  and  all  the   Conference  battering  I  met  never 

caused  me  a  ten  minutes'  qualm. 

"  You  mistake  me  if  you  think  I  do  not  estimate  the  trial  it    Feelings 

must  be  to  you,  and  the  influence  of  circumstances  and  persons     ,'?"  ""' , 
T^  1  -.  1  alter  reul- 

around  you.     But  remember,  dearest,  they  do  not  alter  reali-       ities. 

ties,  and  the  Reform  movement  is  no  home  or  sphere  for  you ; 
whereas  the  principles  of  the  Connexion  you  love  in  your 
very  soul.  I  believe  you  will  be  satisfied  when  once  from  un- 
der the  influence  of  your  Spalding  friends. 

"  Anyway,  don't  let  the  controversy  hurt  your  soul.  Live  Mind 
near  to  God  by  prayer.  Oh,  I  do  feel  the  importance  of  your  aoul. 
spiritual  things,  and  am  in  a  measure  living  by  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God!  The  Lord  is  very  precious  to  me  and  admits 
me  to  free  and  blessed  intercourse  with  Himself.  I  have 
spent  some  precious  moments  in  committing  all  into  His 
hands,  and  I  do  believe  He  will  answer  prayer  and  guide  us 
in  all  things.  You  believe  He  answers  prayer.  Then  take 
courage.  Just  fall  down  at  His  feet  and  open  your  very  soul 
before  Him,  and  throw  yourself  right  into  His  arms.  Tell 
Him  if  you  are  wrong,  you  only  wait  to  be  set  right,  and  be 
the  path  rough  or  smooth  you  will  walk  in  it.  This  is  exactly 
the  position  of  my  mind  now.  I  feel  an  infinite  satisfaction 
in  lying  at  the  footstool  of  my  God,  and  I  believe  He  will  con- 
descend to  guide  us. 

"  Oh,  you  must  live  close  to  God !  If  you  are  at  a  greater  Live  dose 
distance  from  Him  than  you  were,  just  stop  the  whirl  of  out-  ^°  ^°^- 
ward  things,  or  rather  leave  it,  and  shut  yourself  up  with  Him 
till  all  is  clear  and  bright  upwards.  Do,  there's  a  dear.  Oh, 
how  much  we  lose  by  not  coming  to  the  point !  Now,  at  once, 
realise  your  tmion  with  Christ,  and  trust  Him  to  lead  you. 
through  this  perplexity.  Bless  you !  Excuse  this  advice.  I 
am  anxious  for  your  soul.  Look  up!  If  God  hears  my 
prayers.  He  7uust  guide  you — He  imll  guide  you.  I  love  you, 
I  pray  for  you,  and  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  make  yoti 
happy. 

"  Your  espoused  and   loving 

"  Catherine." 


156  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1854,  It  appeared,  however,  too  late  to  draw  back,  and 

Mr.  Booth  resolved  to  persist  in  carrying  out  the  ar- 

Mr.  Booth  rangement  entered  into  with  Dr.  Cooke. 

Df\Cooke.  Had  anybody  at  this  time  ventured  to  prophesy 
that  either  Mr.  Booth  or  Miss  Mumford  would  ever 
of^the  view  with  favour  the  military  form  of  government 
Army.  ^^\^\Q\^  was  the  final  outcome  of  their  experiences, 
surely  none  would  have  contemplated  such  an  idea 
with  more  surprise  and  apprehension  than  themselves. 
Quick  as  were  their  minds  to  grasp  a  new  idea,  and 
resolute  and  intrepid  as  they  were  in  carrying  it  into 
effect,  they  were  still  too  largely  dominated  by  their 
surrounding  circumstances  and  by  the  force  of  long 
formed  habit  to  foresee  the  chain  of  providences 
which  was  to  compel  them,  almost  in  spite  of  them- 
selves, to  a  course  of  action  leading  to  such  momen- 
tous results.  For  the  time  being,  however,  their 
pathway  seemed  clear,  and  they  were  content  to  link 
their  fortunes  with  the  organisation  which  seemed 
to  answer  so  nearly  to  their  highest  ideal. 
Jehus,  But   wherever  they  might  be   and  with  whomso- 

ever they  might  cast  in  their  lot,  these  Jehus  were 
Jehus  still,  and  might  be  known  from  afar  by  their 
furious  driving.  And  they  imported  into  their  new 
position  an  element  of  dash  and  adventure  which  soon 
commenced  to  clash  with  vested  interests.  The 
child-debater,  temperance  secretary,  and  school-girl 
monitor  had  the  inborn  instincts  of  a  leader,  and 
chafed  under  restrictions  and  limitations  which 
seemed  to  her  so  often  to  spring  from  unworthy  mo- 
tives, and  to  cripple  the  aspiration  and  thwart  the  best- 
planned  schemes  of  one  whose  genius  and  single-eyed 
devotion  so  transcended  in  her  opinion  those  who 
surrounded  and  legislated  for  him. 

It   is,  perhaps,  but   the  universal  fate  of  nature's 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND   CONFLICTS.       I57 

most  gifted  children  to  find  barriers  interposed  where      1854, 
they  are  least  expected,  and  it  may  truly  be  said  that       ^^  ^  ' 
the  course  of  the  grandest  benefactors  of  the  human    Barriers 

.  .-,1    ,,  ,1     ,,    to  genius. 

race  never  did  and  perhaps  never  will  run  smooth. 
To  our  short-sighted  vision  it  might  seem  well  if  every 
mountain  torrent  sped  its  way  with  canal-like  straight- 
ness  to  the  sea.  And  yet  thus  it  would  unavoidably 
miss  some  of  its  most  important  tributaries,  and,  by 
shortening  its  course,  deprive  many  needy  valleys  of 
its  fertilising  streams.  It  would  at  least  lose  much  of 
its  charm,  and  by  forfeiting  the  added  force  and  ve- 
locity which  each  surmounted  barrier  lends  to  its  on- 
flowing  current,  would  sacrifice  in  a  great  measure  its 
purity  and  power. 

Had  the  New  Connexion  proved  all  that  was  hoped  ^''^.^'^i^^^ 
for  when  it  received  this  reinforcement,  and  had  its 
Conference  been  endowed  with  sufficient  foresight  to 
anticipate  coming  events,  there  would  perhaps  have 
been  no  occasion  for  the  establishment  of  a  Salvation 
Army.  But,  after  all,  there  are  not  many  who  are 
able  to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  or  who  are 
willing  to  give  genius  and  spiritual  power  its  legiti- 
mate scope.  And  thus  the  benefactors  of  the  earth 
are  too  often  hindered  till  compelled  at  length  to 
manufacture  for  themselves  new  channels  when  the 
old  might  amply  have  sufficed. 

It   may,   however,    well  be  questioned  whether  it    ^f^^^f 
would  have  been   possible  to  have  manufactured  an     Army. 
aggressive  force  such  as  the  Salvation  Army  within 
the  borders  of  any  existing  denomination.     The  ma- 
terials for  such   a  movement    required  to  be  drawn 
from  widely  different  sources.     The  more  than  ninety       The 

/-M     •      •  t,    4-  ninety  per 

per  cent  of  England's    nominally  Christian,  but  ac-      cent. 
tually    heathen    population,   whose    church    was    the 
public-house  and  whose  Bible  was  the  "  penny  dread- 


158 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i8S4, 
Age  25. 


A  happy 
discovery. 


The  ten- 
dency to 
fossilise. 


Bach- 
ward 
pointing 
finger- 
posts. 


ful,"  were  to  constitute  the  recruiting  grounds  for  a 
religious  crusade  which  was  to  send  forth  its  conquer- 
ing legions  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Un- 
embarrassed by  traditional  teachings,  unspoiled  by 
bungling  management,  unshackled  by  governmental 
red  tape  and  destitute  of  religious  grave-clothes  to 
conceal  their  moral  nudeness,  this  spiritual  wilder- 
ness contained  virgin  soil  which  needed  only  patient 
toil  and  sturdy  persistence  to  convert  it  into  a  veritable 
paradise.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  were  afterwards  to 
make  the  happy  discovery  that  the  foetid  fever-breed- 
ing muck-heaps  that  obstructed  the  gangways  of  civi- 
lisation and  threatened  to  overwhelm  society  with 
wholesale  perdition  might  be  converted  into  fertilis- 
ing material,  which  should  yet  prove  a  source  of 
wealth  and  happiness  to  its  possessors,  and  a  blessing 
to  the  world  at  large. 

Human  creeds  and  religious  organisations  have  an 
inveterate  tendency  to  fossilise  the  ideas  and  inspira- 
tions of  a  dead  past,  which  they  vainly  endeavour  to 
foist  upon  an  altogether  altered  present.  They  have 
too  often  ceased  to  grow.  Their  very  garb  and  lan- 
guage are  frequently  antiquated  and  unnatural — in- 
teresting relics  of  a  bygone  age,  time-honoured  mem- 
orials of  a  buried  century,  but  powerless  to  cope  with 
the  exigencies  of  an  ever-changing  world. 

We  say  it,  not  in  a  censorious  spirit,  but  as  the 
simple  explanation  of  a  strange  phenomenon.  The 
results  of  nearly  every  great  religious  awakening  have 
in  time  become  petrified  and  crystallised  into  beauti- 
ful but  powerless  forms.  Instead  of  "  spires  whose 
silent  fingers  point  to  Heaven,"  we  have  sign-posts 
whose  backward  finger  points  to  the  hallowed  but 
speechless  and  lifeless  cemetery  of  bygone  days  and 
deeds.     Instead  of  living  prophets  we  have    grave- 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND   CONFLICTS.       159 


stones  which,  like  funeral  sentinels,  take  their  stand 
upon  the  dust  and  ashes  of  the  past. 

Those  who  have  been  truly  great,  because  they 
caught  the  spirit  of  their  times  and  combined  with  it 
the  spirit  of  the  Divine,  are  transported  into  sur- 
roundino-s  and  circumstances  where  their  names  have 

o 

ceased  to  conjure  or  enchant.  Had  they  lived  they 
would  themselves  no  doubt  have  acted  differently 
under  the  altered  circumstances.  The  religious 
Caesars  of  the  past  would  have  been  the  Napoleons 
and  Moltkes  of  the  present.  They  would  not  have 
attempted  the  futile  task  of  clothing  the  living  with 
the  winding-sheets,  however  pure  and  fragrant,  of 
the  dead.  They  would  have  scorned  to  cater  for  the 
religious  few,  while  the  breadless  multitudes  perished 
at  their  doors;  and  if  their  genius  could  not  have 
soared  to  the  emergencies  of  their  generation,  it  would 
have  carried  them  far  enough  to  enable  them  to  re- 
cognise and  support  the  spirit  of  the  age,  in  however 
strange  or  even  uncouth  a  form  it  might  have  em- 
bodied itself.  Instead  of  devoting  their  ingenuity  to 
manufacturing  patches  for  the  tattered  and  discarded 
draperies  of  early  days  they  would  have  contrived  to 
weave  some  newer  vestments  better  suited  to  cover 
the  moral  nakedness  of  their  times.  Instead  of  being 
satisfied  with  sewing  together  the  original  fig-leaves 
of  Eden,  they  would  have  invented  some  more  suit- 
able material,  and  instead  of  endeavouring  to  clothe 
humanity  with  the  bibs  and  baby-linen  of  its  early 
days,  they  would  have  devised  garments  more  con- 
genial to  its  manhood's  prime.  Instead  of  storing 
its  new  wine  in  the  leaky  worn-out  wineskins  of  the 
past,  they  would  have  reckoned  it  the  truest  economy 
to  invest  a  few  shillings  in  purchasing  it  a  new  and 
serviceable  cask,  consenting  with  a  good  grace  to  the 


1854, 
Age  25. 

Tlie 
powerless 
talis- 
man. 


Recoc/nis- 
ing  the 
spi)'i7  of 
the  age. 


The  bibs 
and  babji- 
linen  of 
human- 
ity. 


i6o 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i8S4, 
Age  25. 


Lack  of 
elasticity. 


Existing 
machin- 
ery tried 
first. 


transmigration  of  the  accustomed  leathern  hides  into 
the  iron  hoops  and  wooden  staves  of  modern  progress. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  was  just  the  absence  of  this 
element  of  elasticity  in  existing  organisations  that 
justified  and  necessitated  the  separate  existence  of 
the  Salvation  Army,  and  afforded  it  a  peculiarly 
wide  and  unoccupied  field  for  its  operations. 

But  the  time  for  this  had  not  yet  come,  and  the 
earlier  years  of  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Booth's  life  were  spent 
in  experimenting  with  existing  machinery  for  the 
accomplishment  of  purposes  which  became  yearly 
more  and  more  the  engrossing  object  of  their  very 
existence. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
LONDON.      1854. 

The  reception  with  which  Mr.  Booth  met  at  the  a  cordial 
threshold  of  his  new  departure  was-  cordial  and  en-  '^^^^p^^^^- 
couraging.  In  Dr.  Cooke  he  found  an  able  and  ap- 
preciative leader,  and  the  mutual  regard  which  they 
entertained  for  each  other  was  preserved  to  the  end. 
The  Doctor,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  preparing  a  few 
students  for  the  ministry,  received  him,  with  two  or 
three  others,  into  his  own  home. 

That    his    studies  were    intermingled  with  active      inter- 
evangelistic  labours  will  readily  be  surmised.     Indeed     Studies. 
the  very  day  after  his  arrival  in  London  we  find  him, 
on  the    15th  of  February,   1854,  preaching  in  Bruns- 
wick Street  Chapel,  when  fifteen  souls  sought  salva-     Fifteen 
tion.     The  General  naively  admits  that  he  never  was      tenlT. 
a  pattern  student,  and  that  he  might  often  have  been 
found   on    his  face  in  an   agony  of  prayer  when  he 
ought  to  have  been  mastering  his  Greek  verbs.     But 
the  blessed  results,  which  .had  already  stamped  his 
ministry  with  an  apostolic   seal,  continued  to  mark 
his  London  labours,  and  when  it  came  to  his  turn  for 
his  sermon  to  be  criticised  by  the  Doctor  according    His  turn 

to  he  cv'it'i' 

to  custom,  he    could    only  say,  "  Mr.  Booth,  I    have      dsed. 
nothing  to  say  to  you.     Go  on,  and  may  God  bless 
you."     Indeed  the  constant  rows  of  weeping    peni- 
tents, including    one    night   the    Doctor's    daughter, 
formed  the  best  apology  for  the  non-ministerial,  un- 

n  161 


l62  -  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1854,      artificial,    dramatic     style    which    distinguished    Mr 
^^  ^^'    Booth's  pulpit  utterances. 
Dr.  "  I  intend  proposing  you  at  the  next  Conference  as 

prl^omi.  superintendent  of  the  work  in  London,"  said  Dr. 
Cooke  one  morning,  as  he  strolled  with  Mr.  Booth 
through  the  garden,  thus  showing  his  confidence  in 
the  ability  and  devotion  of  his  favoured  student.     To 

Mr.  Booth  this  proposal  Mr,  Booth  strenuously  objected,  plead- 
o  jec  s.  .^g.  j^^^  youth  and  inexperience  for  so  important  and 
responsible  a  position.  He  consented,  however,  to 
take  the  position  of  assistant  pastor,  should  he  be  de- 
sired to  do  so,  accepting  as  his  leader  whomever  Con- 
ference might  appoint. 

There  was  a  difficulty,  however,  in  the  adoption  of 
this  plan,  as  hitherto  the  society  had  only  supported 
one  preacher.  This  objection  was  overcome  by  his 
old  friend,  Mr.  Rabbitts,  who  had  followed  him  into 
the  New  Connexion,  and  who  now  offered  to  pay  the 
salary  of  a  second  pastor,  provided  that  Mr.  Booth 
was  appointed  to  the  post.  To  this  arrangement  the 
Conference  subsequently  agreed. 
His  first        But  during    the    interval    an    event   had    occurred 

East  End.  which  is  deserving  of  special  notice.  This  was  Mr. 
Booth's  first  visit  to  the  East  End  of  London,  where 
the  New  Connexion  had  maintained  for  many  years 
a  small  cause,  and  where  he  was  destined  eleven 
years  later  to  establish  the  foundations  of  a  world- 
wide movement.  The  following  entry  from  his  jour- 
nal will  be  read  with  more  than  ordinary  interest  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  history : 

His  jour-       "Sunday,  March    19th,   1854. — Left  home  at   10  o'clock  for 

mil.        Watney  Street.     Felt  much  sympathy  for  the  poor  neglected 

inhabitants  of  Wapping,  and  its  neighbourhood,  as  I  walked 

down   the   filthy   streets    and  beheld  the   wretchedness  and 

wickedness   of   its   people.     Reached    Bethesda   Chapel,  and 


LONDON. 


163 


1854. 
Age  25. 


found  a  nice  little  congregation,  who  seemed  to  hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord  gladly.  At  night  a  good  congregation.  Felt  much 
power  in  preaching.  The  people  wept  and  listened  with  much 
avidity.  Commenced  or  rather  continued  the  meeting  by 
holding  a  prayer-meeting.  All,  or  nearly  all,  stayed.  Gave 
an  invitation  to  those  who  were  decided  to  serve  the  Lord  to 
come  forward  and  many  came — fifteen  in  all — of  whom  four- 
teen professed  to  find  Jesus,  and  went  home  happy  in  His 
love.  Many  of  these  were  very  interesting  cases.  All  en- 
gaged were  much  blessed.  Tired  and  weary,  I  reached  home 
soon  after  11  o'clock." 

In  May  there  is  another  entry : 

"  At  Watney  Street  I  held  a  week's  special  services,  preach- 
ing every  night.  Very  many  gave  their  hearts  to  God.  I 
never  knew  a  work  more  apparently  satisfactory  in  proportion 
to  its  extent.  Some  most  precious  cases  I  have  beheld,  and 
I  thank  God  for  them.  The  people  appear  very  happy  and 
united.     God  bless  and  keep  them ! " 

Referring  to  the  same  meetings  in  one  of  his  let- 
ters, Mr.  Booth  says: 

"  We  had  indeed  a  glorious  day  yesterday.  Good  congrega- 
tion in  the  morning.  In  the  afternoon  we  held  a  love -feast. 
Seventeen  spoke,  and  nearly  all  praised  God  for  the  day  1 
came  among  them.  Many  of  my  spiritual  children,  with 
streaming  eyes  and  overflowing  hearts,  told  us  how  God,  for 
Christ's  sake,  had  made  them  happy. 

"  At  night,  notwithstanding  the  unfavourable  weather,  we 
had  the  place  crammed  every  nook  and  corner,  and  in  the 
prayer-meeting  we  had  near  twenty  penitents.  Mr.  Atkin- 
son's daughter  and  Mr.  Gould,  her  intended  husband,  came 
forward  and  with  many  tears  and  prayers  sought  and  fotmd 
mercy.  Two  black  women  came,  and  altogether  it  was  a 
good  night." 

Although  it  had  been  impossible  for  Dr.  Cooke  or  j^^ce'pted 

any  of  his  influential  friends  to  pledge  the  Conference  ^^  tj^_ 
to    accept    Mr.  Booth's    candidature,  nevertheless    it      "ice. 
had  been  a  foregone  conclusion  that  they  would  read- 


A  pros- 
j)erous  be' 
ginning. 


164 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1854, 
Age  25. 


ily  extend  to  him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
promised  by  them  to  the  Reformers  in  general  at 
their  last  annual  gathering.  Still  Mr.  Booth,  and  even 
Miss  Mumford,  were  scarcely  prepared  for  the  hearty 
and  unanimous  manner  in  which  they  were  received, 
and  for  the  special  favour  granted  to  them  in  the 
privilege  of  receiving  permission  to  marry,  at  the 
end  of  twelve  months,  instead  of  having  to  wait,  as 
was  generally  the  rule,  for  the  expiry  of  the  four 
years  of  probation  that  must  elapse  before  he  could 
be  formally  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  church. 

In   announcing  this   news   to   Miss   Mumford,  Mr. 
Booth  writes; 


Not  much 
elated. 


"  I  snatch  a  moment  to  say  that  a  letter  has  just  come 
to  hand  from  Mr.  Cooke,  stating  that  I  have  been  unanimously 
received  by  the  Conference.  This  is  very  good,  but  for  some 
unaccountable  reason,  I  do  not  feel  at  all  grateful,  neither 
does  it  all  elate  me !  " 


Miss 
Mum- 
ford''s 
feelings. 


Her  up- 
permost 
desire. 


To  this  letter  Miss  Mumford  replies  as  follows : 

"  Your  letter  this  morning  filled  my  heart  with  gratitude 
and  my  mouth  with  praise.  I  am  thankful  beyond  measure 
for  the  favourable  reception  and  kind  consideration  you  have 
met  with  from  the  Conference,  and  I  can  only  account  for 
your  ingratitude  on  the  ground  you  once  gave  me,  namely, 
that  blessings  in  possession  seem  to  lose  half  their  value.  This 
is  an  unfortunate  circumstance,  but  I  think  in  this  matter  you 
ought  to  be  grateful,  when  you  look  at  the  past  and  contem- 
plate the  future.  However,  I  am.  This  comes  to  me  as  the 
answer  of  too  many  prayers,  the  result  of  too  much  self-sacri- 
fice, the  end  of  too  much  anxiety,  and  the  crowning  of  too 
many  hopes,  not  to  be  appreciated ;  and  my  soul  does  praise 
God.  You  may  think  me  enthusiastic.  But  your  position  is 
now  fixed  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  and  your  only  concern  will 
be  to  labour  for  God  and  souls. 

"  I  saw  that  in  all  probability  you  might  toil  the  best  part 
of  your  life  and  then,  after  all,  have  to  turn  to  business  for  your 
support.     But  now,  for  life  you  are  to  be  a  teacher  of  Christ's 


LONDON. 


165 


1854. 
Age  25. 


A  fresh 
start. 


glorious  gospel,  and  I  am  sure  the  uppermost  desire  of  my 
soul  is  that  you  may  be  a  holy  and  successful  one.  May  God 
afresh  baptise  you  with  His  love,  and  make  you  indeed  a 
minister  of  the  Spirit ! 

"  Oh,  to  begin  anew,  to  give  up  all,  and  to  live  right  in  the 
glory !  Shall  we  ?  Can  we  dare  do  otherwise  with  the  light 
and  influence  God  has  given  us  ?  God  forbid  that  we  should 
provoke  the  eyes  of  His  holiness  by  our  indifference  and  luke- 
warmness  and  inconsistency !  The  Lord  help  me  and  t/iee  to 
live,  so  that  our  hearts  condemn  us  not,  for  then  shall  we 
have  confidence  toward  God,  that  whatsoever  we  shall  ask  of 
Him  (even  to  making  us  instrumental  in  saving  thousands  of 
precious  souls)  He  will  do  it  for  us.     Amen ! " 

On  the  inside  of  the  envelope,  Miss  Mumford  adds 
the  following  quotation : 

"Not  to  understand  a  treasure's  worth 
Till  time  hath  stole  away  the  slighted  good 
Is  cause  of  half  the  misery  we  feel, 
And  makes  the  world  the  wilderness  it  is." 

Previous  to  entering  upon  his  London  appointment 
Mr.  Booth  paid  a  short  visit  to  Caistor,  with  a  view  to 
benefiting  his  health,  which  was  a  good  deal  run  down. 

But  no  sooner  was  it  known  by  his  old  friends  and 
converts  that  he  was  in  the  place,  than  meetings  were 
planned  which  he  could  not  refuse  to  conduct,  so  that 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  visit  he  writes  that  in  future 
he  would  arrange  his  rest  in  a  place  where  he  was  not 
quite  so  well  known.  At  the  same  time  his  reception 
was  such  as  to  gratify  his  heart.  Although  his  pre- 
vious visits  to  the  town  had  been  so  brief,  the  results 
had  been  both  powerful  and  permanent.  He  writes 
to  Miss  Mumford: 

"  Mv  reception  has  been  exceedingly  pleasing.     Even  the    a  hearty 
children  laugh  and  dance  and  sing  at  my  commg.  and  eyes 
sparkle  and  tongues  falter  in  uttering  my  welcome.     Yester- 
day  I   had    heavy    work.       Chapel    crowded.      Enthusiasm 


Another 
visit  to 
Caistor. 


1 66 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1854, 
Age  25. 


A  crash- 
ing 
prayer- 
meeting. 


Miss 
Mum- 
ford^  s 
sermon. 


Some 

Tnore 

wanted. 


ran  very  high.  Feeling  overpowering,  and  yet  not  the 
crash  we  expected.  My  prospects  for  usefulness  seem  to  be 
unbounded.  But  God  knows  best,  and  where  He  wants  me 
there  He  can  send  me.  The  people  love  me  to  distraction,  and 
are  ready  to  tear  me  to  pieces  to  have  me  at  their  homes.  A 
large  party  was  invited  to  meet' me." 

Two  days  later  he  adds : 

"  Yesterday  I  preached  to  crowded  congregations,  and  we 
had  a  crashing  prayer-meeting.  Some  splendid  cases.  I  am 
more  than  ever  attached  to  the  people.  They  are  thorough- 
going folks.  Jifsf  my  sort.  I  love  them  dearly,  and  shall  stand 
by  them  and  help  them  when  I  can. 

"  I  have  just  taken  hold  of  that  sketch  you  sent  me  on  'Be 
not  deceived, '  and  am  about  to  make  a  full  sermon  upon  it.  I 
like  it  much.  It  is  admirable.  I  want  you  to  write  some 
short  articles  for  our  magazine.  Begin  one  and  get  it  done 
by  the  time  I  come  up.  It  will  do  you  a  world  of  good.  I  am 
sure  you  can  do  it.  I  will  look  them  over  and  send  them  to 
the  editor. 

"  I  want  a  sermon  on  the  Flood,  one  on  Jonah,  and  one  on 
the  Judgment.  Send  me  some  bare  thoughts;  some  clear, 
startling  outline.  Nothing  moves  people  like  the  terrific. 
They  must  have  hell-fire  flashed  before  their  faces,  or  they 
will  not  move.  Last  night  I  preached  a  sermon  on  Christ 
weeping  over  sinners,  and  only  one  came  forward,  although 
several  confessed  to  much  holy  feeling  and  influence.  When 
I  preached  about  the  harvest  and  the  wicked  being  turned 
away,  numbers  came.  We  must  have  that  kind  of  truth 
which  will  move  sinners. 

~  "  I  have  written  by  this  post  to  Dr.  Cooke.  I  tell  him  that 
I  come  in  love  7vit/i  no  half-measures,  and  I  am  determined  to 
seek  success.  I  am  doing  better  in  my  soul.  Am  resolved 
to  live  near  to  God,  and  put  confidence  in  Him.  Let  us  live 
for  Heaven ! " 


Unsatis- 
fied. 


Summing  up  this    visit  to  Caistor,  in  his    journal 
Mr.  Booth  remarks: 

"  Nearly  all  my  spiritual  children  stand  firm  in  the  faith.     All 
glory  to  God!     Preached  eight  sermons  and  attended  a  public 


LONDON.  167 

meeting.     I  trust  that  during  my  visit  some  good  has  been       1854, 
done.     Near  thirty  profess  to  have  found  peace,  but  still  the     ^Z^  25. 
work  has  not  been  up  to  my  expectations." 

On  returning  to  London,  Mr.  Booth  threw  himself  ^^tations' 
heart  and  soul  into  his  new  work  as  assistant  pastor 
to  the  Rev.  P.  T.  Gilton.  His  fame  as  a  revivalist 
had  now  spread  to  distant  places,  and  frequent  invi- 
tations were  received  for  him  to  hold  special  services. 
Whilst  most  of  these  were  declined  withotit  further 
consideration,  several  were  of  such  a  pressing  nature, 
and  were  so  strongly  backed  by  influential  friends, 
that  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  reply.  Coming  as  they 
did  from  New  Connexion  congregations,  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  return  a  refusal. 

Miss  Mumford  hailed  the  news  of    each  advance      Miss 
with  joy.     She  had  from  the  first  entertained  an  un-     ford's 
bounded  confidence  in  Mr.  Booth's  ability,  and  felt       •^°^" 
that  all  he  needed  was  an  opportunity  to  enable  him 
to  occupy,  with  glory  to  God  and  credit  to  himself,  a 
far  higher  position  of  usefulness  than  any  that  he  had 
hitherto  held. 

"  Bless  you !  Bless  you !"  she  writes.  "  Your  note  has,  like  A  stirring 
'joy's  seraphic  fingers,'  touched  the  tenderest  chords  in  my  ^«<*«''- 
heart,  and  what  I  write  is  but  like  the  trembling  echoes  of  a 
distant  harp.  If  you  were  /lere,  I  would  pour  out  the  full  strain 
into  your  bosom  and  press  you  to  my  heart.  God  is  too 
good !  I  feel  happier  than  I  have  done  for  months.  You  will 
think  me  extravagant.  Well,  bless  God.  JJe  made  me  so. 
Yes,  we  shall,  I  believe  it,  be  very  happy. 

"  Do  I  remember  ?  Yes,  I  remember  «//,  all  that  has  bound 
us  together.  All  the  bright  and  happy,  as  well  as  the  clouded 
and  sorrowful  of  our  fellowship.  Nothing  relating  to  you, 
can  time  or  place  erase  from  my  memory.  Your  words,  your 
looks,  your  actions,  even  the  most  trivial  and  incidental,  come 
up  before  me  as  fresh  as  life.  If  I  meet  a  child  called  William, 
I  am  more   interested  in  him   than   any  other.     Bless  you! 


i68 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1854, 
Age  25. 


Keep  your  spirits  up  and  hope  much  for  the  future.  God 
lives  and  loves  us,  and  we  shall  be  one  in  Him,  loving  each 
other  as  Christ  has  loved  us. 


Her  visit 

to  Burn- 

hain. 


"Thus  by  communion  our  delight  shall  grow  ! 
Thus  streams  of  mingled  bliss  swell  higher  as  they  flow ! 
-    -  Thus  angels  mix  their  flames  and  more  divinely  glow !" 

During  the  autumn  of  1854,  Miss  Mumford  paid  a 
long  promised  visit  to  a  friend  at  Burnham,  in  Essex. 
There  is  a  little  incident  connected  with  this  trip 
worthy  of  reference.  She  was  persuaded  to  attend  an 
Irvingite  Chapel,  in  the  vicinity,  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  and  hearing  one  of  their  "angels."  She  gives 
the  following  characteristic  summary  of  her  impres- 
sions : 


The 
Irvingites 


"  Burnham  contains  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  hundred 
inhabitants.  It  has  a  very  old  church,  a  Wesleyan  chapel,  a 
Baptist  chapel,  a  Calvinist  chapel,  a  Chapel  of  Ease,  and  an 
Irvingite  chapel.  To  the  last  of  these  a  party  of  us  went  last 
Sunday  evening,  to  hear  one  of  the  travelling  'angels'  belong- 
ing to  their  denomination.  Of  all  the  mystery  I  ever  listened 
to  or  conceived  possible,  it  excelled!  It  was  indeed  beyond 
my  comprehension,  or  that  of  anybody  else !  I  wish  you  had 
been  there,  though  I  hardly  think  you  would  have  been  able 
to  sit  it  through.  It  was  all  I  could  endure  to  see  the  people 
gulled  in  such  a  way.  Poor  things !  What  need  there  is  for 
effort  and  energy,  for  real  religion  and  common  sense." 

Perhaps    one    of    the   most   valuable    and   clearly 

marked  features  of  Miss  Mumford's  character  washer 

capacity  for  discerning  spirits.      She  was  never  long 

in  coming  to  a  conclusion,  and  was  seldom  mistaken 

in    her   judgments.     While    she    never   hesitated    to 

denounce  anything  like  lukewarmness  in  religion,  she 

Luke-     was  equally  careful  to  guard  against  fanaticism,  be- 

warmness  j^g^jj^g  ^.j-^^^^  ^^le  latter  was  almost  as  injurious  to  the 

aticism.     (^g^^gg  Qf  chi-ist  as  the  former,  and  arguing  that  when 


Capacity 
for  dis- 
cerning 
sjnrits. 


LONDON.  169 

the  devil  could  not  persuade  people  to  hold  back  from  1854, 
doing  their  duty,  he  would  tempt  them  to  discredit  ^^  ^^" 
God's  work  by  going  too  far.  The  common  curse  of 
modern  Christianity  doubtless  consists  in  whittling 
away  the  Gospel,  and  lowering  ths  wStandard  of  right- 
eousness. Nevertheless  she  held  that  there  was  a 
noble  but  misguided  minority  who  erred  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  By  exaggerating  certain  aspects  of 
the  truth,  by  magnifying  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else 
some  favoured  hobby,  or  by  fixing  for  the  multitude 
a  standard  that  was  possible  only  for  the  few,  she 
believed  that  needless  stumbling-blocks  were  cast  in 
the  path  of  multitudes,  and  that  the  most  sincere  and 
devoted  were  often  tempted  to  desert  the  substance 
of  religion  for  its  shadow,  the  pursuit  of  righteous- 
ness for  that  of  a  fugitive  ideal  which  either  could  not 
be  grasped  at  all,  or  the  possession  of  which  was  of 
no  profit  to  the  would-be  possessor  or  to  the  world 
at  large. 

This  faculty  of  discernment  was  of  infinite  value  a  mental 

'iTLstiiyict' 

to  her  in  helping  to  shape  the  course  of  the  religious 
movement  with  which  her  name  must  ever  remain 
so  intimately  connected.  New  and  unforeseen  de- 
velopments were  perpetually  occurring,  which  required 
to  be  handled  with  combined  promptness  and  dis- 
cretion. At  these  decisive  epochs,  Mr.  Booth  gladly 
availed  himself  of  the  prophetic  instinct,  which,  while 
unbending  in  its  demand  for  uttermost  devotion,  was 
equally  rigid  in  its  rejection  of  the  unwise  and  need- 
lessly extreme.  Like  a  carrier  pigeon,  she  would 
arise,  as  it  were,  at  such  emergencies  into  the  air, 
circle  a  few  times  round  the  debated  point,  and  then, 
having  taken  her  bearings,  would  arrive  at  her  con- 
clusions with  a  speed  and  directness  which  seemed 
nothing  short  of  a  mental  miracle. 


lyo  MBS.    BOOTH. 

i8s4,  In  another  of  her  letters  from  Burnham,  there  is  a 

^^  ^^'    charming  descriptive  passage: 

A  charm-  "  n  jg  truly  delightful  here  now  at  night.  The  lovely  moon 
cription.  throws  her  silvery  beams  on  the  bosom  of  a  beautifully  tran- 
quil river.  All  around  is  serene  and  silent.  The  breeze  is 
just  sufficient  to  fan  the  water  into  gentle  ripplets.  The  boats 
and  skiffs  repose  on  its  surface  as  if  weary  with  the  day's  en- 
gagements. Altogether  it  reminds  one  of  Heaven.  I  wish 
you  could  see  it  just  now.  It  would  stir  the  old  poetic  fire  in 
father's  soul,  and  warm  mother's  heart  with  admiration  and 
devotion  I  All  nature,  vocal  and  mute,  points  upwards.  And 
the  most  unsophisticated  soul  7;iusf  feel  the  power  of  its  testi- 
mony, and  the  being  and  goodness  of  the  Christian's  God.  I 
love  to  gaze  on  these  dear  foot-marks  of  Jehovah.  It  does 
one  good  sometimes  as  much  in  soul  as  in  body.  I  don't 
know  what  effect  the  majestic  in  nature  would  have  upon  me. 
But  such  a  scene  as  this  stirs  strange  feelings  and  touches 
chords  which  thrill  and  vibrate  through  my  whole  being. 

"  Be  happy  about  me.  God  lives,  and  I  feel  safe  in  His  hands. 
Let  us  try  to  live  according  to  our  professed  belief,  and  be 
careful  for  nothing.     Bless  you  ! 

"  Good-bye,  and  believe  me  as  ever,  your  own  loving 

"Catherine." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PUBLISHED  ARTICLE. 

1854. 

The   earliest  extant  publication  from  Miss  Mum-    Herear- 
ford's  pen  is  an    article  for  the  Nfzv  Connexion  Mag-    ncation. 
azine  on  the  best  means  for  retaining  new  converts. 
It  contains  probably  her  first  public  utterance  on  the 
important  question  of  female  ministry.     Indeed,  the 
concluding    portion    is    almost     prophetical.     Forty 
years  ago  she  raised  a  warning  voice  as  to  the  im- 
possibility of  rearing    young  converts  in  a  worldly 
church,  and  before  her  life-work  was  completed  she  had 
the  joy  of  helping  to  establish  a  universal  nursery  for 
souls,  in  which  the  rules  she  thus  early  laid  down 
should  be  carried  into  practice  with  a  literalness  that 
she  could  hardly  have  hoped  for,  and  with  a  success 
that  proved  their  value.     Forty  years  ago  she  proph-    ^^^J^^P; 
esied   that  there  were  hidden   Lydias  in  the  church.     ''^^'^^'^''- 
Five  years  later  she  stepped  forward  as  one  of  them 
herself,  and  she  lived  to  be  surrounded  by  tens  of 
thousands  of  women  whose  lips   she   had    unsealed, 
whose  timidity  she  had  overcome,  whose  rights  she 
had  defended,  and  whose  ability  to  preach  the  Gospel 
she  had  proved  by  their  abundant  and    unqualified 
success  and  indubitable  inspiration. 

In  this  early  effort  there  is  reflected  the  ripeness 
of  her  later  years.  The  keen  common  sense,  the 
lucid  logic,  the  grasp  of  details,  the  inimitable  com- 
mand of  language,  the  originality  of  ideas,  and  the 
close  personal  application,  are  almost  as  plainly  im- 

171 


1/2 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1854, 
Age  25. 


printed  on  this  her  earliest  effort  as  on  her  last.     But 
the  following  lines  will  speak  for  themselves : 


The  best 
means  for 

keeping 
new  con- 
verts. 


Tracing 
an  anal- 
ogy. 


Congenial 
aliment. 


"The  Editor,  Methodist  N civ  Connexion  Magazine. 

"Dear  Sir: — The  following  few  thoughts  were 
suggested  by  the  perusal  of  your  question  relative  to 
the  best  means  of  retaining  the  new  converts  brought 
in  during  the  late  revivals ;  and  as  I  feel  deeply  inter- 
ested in  this  important  subject,  I  venture  to  transmit 
them  to  you,  to  be  made  use  of  or  not,  as  your  judg- 
ment dictates. 

"  I  am  fond  of  tracing  the  analogy  which  in  many 
instances  exists  between  the  economy  of  the  natural 
and  spiritual  worlds,  and  I  think  to  all  who  love  and 
seek  out  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  this  must  be  an  ever 
interesting  and  profitable  exercise.  I  think,  too,  there 
are  truths  and  principles  of  extensive  application  and 
great  practical  importance  often  deducible  from  it. 
When  considering  your  question,  it  suggested  an- 
other, namely:  What  are  the  conditions  indispensa- 
ble to  the  preservation  and  growth  of  the  natural 
babe?  And  the  following  immediately  occurred  to 
me: — ist.  An  adequate  supply  of  congenial  aliment. 
2d.  A  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere.  3d.  A  care- 
ful cleansing  away  of  all  impurities.  And  4th.  Free- 
dom from  undue  restraint  in  the  exercise  of  its  facul- 
ties. Between  these  conditions  and  those  necessary 
to  the  preservation  and  progress  of  spiritual  life,  there 
appears  to  me  a  striking  and  beautiful  analogy. 

"  The  first  and  most  important  want  of  the  babe  in 
Christ  is  unquestionably  congenial  aliment ;  it  needs 
to  be  fed  with  'the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word.'  De- 
prived of  this,  there  is  no  chance  of  life,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  growth.  How  important,  then,  that  the  char- 
acter of  the  ministry  should  be  suited  to  the  wants 


MRS.   BOOTH'S  FIRST  ARTICLE.  I73 

of  a  new-born  soul,  '  the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word, '  that    ^^^^54. 
which  is  felt  to  be  real     Words  without  heart  will 
chill  the  very  life-current  of  a  young  believer.     It 
must  be  that  which  has  been  tasted  and  handled  of 
the  Word  of  Life.     The  spiritual  babe  will  soon  pine 
away  under  mere  theoretical  teaching.     It  must  be  Jf^^^^;;^;- 
sustaining,  and  in  order  to  this    the    milk    must  be       ing. 
pure,  unmixed  with  either  diluting  or  deleterious  doc- 
trines.    It  must  be  congenial  to  the  cravings    of    a 
spiritual  appetite,  and  capable  of  being  assimilated  by 
a  spiritual  nature.     It  must  be  direct  and  practical. 
The  babe,  under  its  teachings,  must  learn  how  to  walk 
in  all  the  ordinances  and  statutes  of  the  Lord  blame- 
less  how  to  apply  the  principles  of  action  laid  down 

in  His  Word  to  the  daily  occurrences  of  life,  how  to 
resist  temptation  and  overcome  the  world.  And  I 
think,  without  an  adequate  supply  of  such  spiritual 
food,  the  first  condition  of  its  preservation  and  pro- 
gress will  not  be  fulfilled. 

"Then  comes  the  second  scarcely  less  important  J^^^^^^^-^ 
condition — a  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere.  Not 
more  surely  will  the  sprightly  infant  born  in  some 
pent-up  garret,  which  for  generations  has  been  im- 
pregnable to  the  pure  air  of  heaven,  pine  and  die, 
than  will  the  spiritual  babe  introduced  into  the  death- 
charged  atmosphere  of  some  churches.  So  far  from 
its  being  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  many  converts 
relapse  into  spiritual  death,  it  appears  to  me  a  far 
greater  wonder  that  so  many  survive  under  the 
influence  of  the  noxious  atmosphere  into  which  they 
are  often  forced. 

"  Let  the  spiritual  infant,  born  amidst  the  genial  \ft'^,^^^^l'f 
influences  of  a  genuine  revival,  and  just  awakened  to 
a   sense    of   the    importance    and    reality    of    eternal 
things,  be  transplanted  to  a  church  in  which  the  tide 


ness. 


174  MFS.   BOOTH. 

1854,  of  holy  feeling  has  been  rolled  back  by  a  flood  of 
"^^  worldliness,  formality,  and  indifference,  and  what  a 
shock  his  spiritual  nature  must  sustain !  Nay,  sup- 
pose him  introduced  into  some  class-meeting  where 
there  are  old  professors  of  ten,  twelve,  or  twenty  years' 
standing,  who  ought  to  be  far  ahead  of  him  in  the  joy 
and  strength  of  the  Lord,  but  whose  everlasting  com- 
plaint is  'my  leanness,  my  leanness,'  and  this  always 
:he  key  of  in  the  same  key — the  key  of  doubt,  who  can  estimate 
the  freezing,  paralysing  effects  of  such  an  atmosphere? 
What  can  be  expected  but  misgiving,  anxiety,  and 
relaxation  in  duty?  Oh,  if  the  Church  would  indeed 
be  the  nursery  of  the  future  kings  and  priests  of  her 
God,  she  must  awake  up  from  her  lethargy  and  create 
an  atmosphere  of  warm  and  holy  feeling,  pure  and 
unfeigned  love,  incessant  and  prevailing  prayer,  and 
active  untiring  effort  for  souls !  Then  may  she  hope 
that  the  converts  born  under  special  outpourings  of 
the  Spirit  will  grow  and  thrive,  and  in  due  time  ar- 
rive at  the  stature  of  men  and  women  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Cleansing  "  The  third  Condition  of  physical  life  and  health 
purities  ^^  ^^®  clcausing  away  of  impurities.  The  infant, 
though  truly  a  living  and  healthy  child,  is  too  feeble 
and  ignorant  to  remove  what  would  be  injurious  to 
itself  and  render  it  offensive  to  others,  and  therefore 
some  maternal  and  loving  hand  must  come  to  its  help. 
Is  there  no  analogy  in  this  respect  between  the  natu- 
ral and  spiritual  babe?  Has  the  latter  no  injurious 
habits  to  be  pointed  out  and  overcome ;  no  false  views 
to  be  corrected ;  no  mistaken  conduct  to  be  rectified ; 
no  unholy  tendency  to  be  subdued ;  and  is  it  not  gen- 
erally too  feeble  and  ignorant  to  understand  its  errors 
and  to  correct  them?  Then  does  it  not  need  the 
careful  pruning  of  experienced  and  loving  Christians, 
the  tender  watchfulness  of  fathers  and    mothers    in 


PX- 


MRS.    BOOTH'S   FIRST  ARTICLE.  175 

Christ,  that  its  life   be  not  sacrificed  or  its  spiritual      1854, 
nature  depressed?  ^^  ^^ 

"  It  is  as  great  a  mistake  to  expect  perfection  in  jVo«  to 
the  spiritual  babe  as  it  would  be  to  expect  maturity  of  p^r/ec- 
strength  and  intellect  in  the  natural.  If  indeed  it  „/«('««% 
were  born  perfect,  of  what  force  the  injunction,  '  Go  on 
to  perfection!'  and  why  the  precaution  to  give  milk 
unto  babes  rather  than  strong  meat?  There  may  be 
heterogeneous  substances  to  be  cleansed  away,  and 
some  unseemly  blemishes  to  be  removed,  where  the 
germ  of  true  spiritual  life  has  been  deposited.  But  let 
not  nursing  fathers  and  mothers  be  discouraged  on 
that  account.  Rather  let  them  learn  of  the  heavenly 
husbandman  how  to  hasten  the  pruning  process  and 
develop  the  hidden  life. 

"  There  is  yet  another  condition  in  which  the  anal-    Freedom 
ogy    between    the    natural  and  spiritual  seems  even    rf^f"  ^T' 
more  striking  and  complete,  namely,  that  of  freedom     «^*'«*'^<- 
from    undue    restraint    in    the    use    of   the  faculties. 
Thank  Heaven,  the  days  of  ignorance  with  reference 
to  the  operation  of  natural  law  are  fast  passing  away, 
and  mothers  and  nurses  are  learning  that  health  and 
vigour   are    attendants    on    freedom    and    exercise. 
Would  that  the  church  generally  would  make,  and  act 
upon,  the  same  discovery. 

"  What  can  be  a  more  fatal  cause  of  religious  de-  inactivity 
clension  than  inactivity?  And  if  religion  consists  in  of  decline. 
doing  the  will  of  God,  what  an  anomaly  is  an  inactive 
Christian !  Yet  there  are  multitudes  in  this  our  day 
professing  to  be  Christians,  who  do  absolutely  nothing 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  or  the  glory  of  God.  Men 
and  women  attempt  to  serve  God  by  proxy,  as  though 
paying  another  for  the  employment  of  his  talent  were 
all  the  same  as  improving  their  own ;  as  though  God 
did  not  demand,  and  the  world  need,  the  exertion  of 


1/6  MRS.    BOOTH. 

1854,      every  man's  energies   and    the   exhibition   of   every 
^^  ^^'    light  which   God  has  kindled.     The  babe  in   Christ 
must  be  made  to  feel  his  individual  untransferable 
responsibility.      He  must  be  taught  that  labour  is  the 
law  of  life,  spiritual  as  well  as  natural,  and  that  to  in- 
crease in  wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favour  with  God, 
he  'must  be  about  his  Father's  business.'     The  ca- 
pacity   of    every    young    convert,   male    and    female, 
should  be  ascertained,  and  a  suitable  sphere  provided 
for  its  development. 
Women's        "Methodism,  beyond  almost  any  other  system,  has 
minis  ry.  ^q^sq^^^^^q^  ^j^g  importance  of  this  principle,  and  to  this 
fact  doubtless  owes  much  of  its  past  success ;  but  has 
it  not  in  some  measure  degenerated  in  this  respect,  at 
least  with  regard  to  its  employment  of  female  talent? 
Reiuc-     There  seems  in  many  societies  a  growing  disinclina- 
%ray!'^    tion  among  the  female  members  to  engage  in  prayer, 
speak  in  love  feasts,  band  meetings,  or  in  any  manner 
bear  testimony  for  their  Lord,  or  to  the  power  of  His 
grace.     And  this  false  God-dishonouring  timidity  is 
but  too  fatally  pandered  to  by  the  church,  as  if  God 
had  given  any  talent  to  be  hidden   in  a  napkin,  or 
as  if  the  church  and  the  world  needed  not  the  employ- 
ment of  all. 
Theswad-       "  Why  should  the  swaddling-bands  of  blind  custom, 
bands  of   which  in  Wesley's  days  were  so  triumphantly  broken, 
and  with  such  glorious  results  thrown  to  the  moles 
and  the  bats,  be  again  wrapped  round  the  female  dis- 
ciples of  the  Lord  Jesus?     Where  are  the  Mrs.  Fletch- 
ers and  Mrs.  Rogers  of  our  churches  now,  with  their 
numerous  and  healthy  spiritual  progeny?     And  yet 
who  can  doubt  that  equal  power  in  prayer  and  the 
germ    of    equal    usefulness    of   life  exist  in  many  a 
Hidden     Lydia's  heart,  smothered  and  kept  back  though  it  may 

Lydias.  .  , 

be?    I  believe  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  extent 


MJ^S.    BOOTH- S   FIRST  ARTICLE. 


177 


of  the  church's  loss,  where  prejudice  and  custom  are 
allowed  to  render  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit  upon 
His  handmaidens  null  and  void.  But  it  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  in  the  most  cold,  formal,  and  worldly 
churches  of  the  day  we  find  least  of  female  agency. 

"  I  would  warn  our  societies  against  drifting  into  false 
notions  on  this  subject.  Let  the  female  converts  be 
not  only  allowed  to  use  their  newly  awakened  facul- 
ties, but  positively  encouraged  to  exercise  and  improve 
them.  Let  them  be  taught  their  obligations  to  work 
themselves  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  and  made  to 
feel  that  the  plea  of  bashfulness,  or  custom,  will  not 
excuse  them  to  Him  Who  has  put  such  honour  on 
them,  and  Who,  last  at  the  cross  and  first  at  the  sep- 
ulchre, was  attended  by  women,  who  so  far  overcame 
bashfulness  as  to  testify  their  love  for  Him  before  a 
taunting  multitude,  and  who  so  far  disregarded  cus- 
tom that  when  all  (even  fellow-disciples)  forsook  Him 
and  fled,  they  remained  faithful. 

"  Oh  that  the  Church  would  excite  its  female  mem- 
bers to  emulate  their  zeal  and  remove  all  undue 
restraint  to  its  development !  Then,  when  every 
member,  male  and  female,  is  at  work,  exercising 
their  spiritual  faculties,  using  the  talents  God  has 
given  them  on  purpose  to  be  used,  then  will  our  Zion 
become  a  praise  in  the  whole  earth,  and  men  shall 
flock  to  it  as  doves  to  their  windows. 

"  Yours  faithfully, 

"C.  M ." 


1854, 

Age  25. 


A  timely 
tvarning. 


How  to 
succeed. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

LONDON  — GUERNSEY.      1854-5 

A  nation  LONDON  has  always  been  regarded  by  preachers  as 
agnation,  an  extremely  difficult  field,  and  many  who  have  been 
successful  elsewhere  have  failed  completely  when 
they  have  sought  to  move  the  shrewdly-intelligent 
and  worldly-wise  heart  of  Cockneydom.  It  is  scarcely 
too  much  to  say  that  the  vast  metropolis  is  a  nation 
within  a  nation.  The  thoroughbred  Londoner  is  a 
man  sui  generis.  For  needle-like  acuteness,  for  ready 
repartee,  for  unabashed  self-confidence,  for  unguUi- 
bility — if  we  may  coin  the  word — he  presents  the  very 
antipodes  of  the  simple-minded  country  yokel.  In- 
deed, in  these  respects  it  would  be  hard  to  match  him 
in  the  world.  Perhaps  the  struggle  for  existence,  the 
ceaseless  roar  of  traffic,  and  the  perpetual  contact  with 
keen  intellects,  all  help  towards  the  formation  of  such 
characteristics,  which  serve  considerably  to  counteract 
the  preacher's  toil. 
The  mod-  The  lowest  classes  are  absorbed  in  the  scramble  for 
Lazarus,  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  the  rich  man's  table.  One 
Lazarus  is  bad  and  sad  enough  ;  but  here  are  hundreds 
of  thousands  lying  at  Dives'  door,  whose  destitution 
is  even  more  miserable  than  that  of  their  Eastern 
counterpart.  Nay,  they  are  not  allowed  to  lie  in  so 
comfortable  a  place.  The  Dives  of  the  nineteenth 
century  cannot  tolerate  so  painful  a  sight.  The  baton 
of  the  policeman,  and,  if  needs  be,  the  bayonet  of  the 
soldier,  must  sweep  such  refuse  as  far  as  possible  from 

178 


LONDON— GUERNSEY. 


179 


his  gaze,  into  the  dens  and  alleys  where  it  lies  seeth- 
ing for  a  time,  awaiting  the  ghastly  day  of  resurrec- 
tion and  retribution.  To  go  to  them  with  a  loaf  in 
one  hand  appears  as  necessary  as  to  carry  the  Gospel 
in  the  other.  "Give  ye  them  to  eat,"  seems  as  defin- 
itely commanded  for  their  bodies  as  it  is  for  their 
souls.  And  yet,  whence  shall  any  buy  bread  for  such 
a  multitude? 

And  then  there  are  the  labouring  classes,  who  live 
upon  the  borders  of  this  human  pandemonium,  this 
earthly  purgatory,  this  out-Hadesed  Hades,  and  who 
are  perpetually  supplying  the  fuel  for  its  flames. 

The  conditions  of  society  have  made  their  burdens 
so  grievous,  their  hours  of  toil  so  long,  their  means 
of  subsistence  so  scanty,  that  they  have  but  little  time 
and  opportunity  to  provide  for  the  interests  of  their 
souls,  so  absorbed  are  they  in  caring  for  their  bodies. 
Their  worse  than  Egyptian  taskmasters  bid  them  to 
make  bricks  without  straw,  and  sacrifice  their  health 
and  families  without  even  the  occasional  shelter  of  a 
land  of  Goshen,  as  a  hard  earned  recompense  for  their 
toil.  The  modern  Rehoboam  answers  the  universal 
cry  of  Israel  for  concessions  by  declaring  that  his  lit- 
tle finger  shall  be  thicker  than  his  father's  loins,  and 
by  substituting  a  scourge  of  scorpions  for  his  father's 
thongs.  And  when  the  busman,  the  tram  conductor, 
the  shop-girl  venture  to  ventilate  their  grievances 
and  to  complain  against  their  Gethsemane  of  toil,  they 
are  threatened,  if  one  may  reverently  say  it,  with  the 
Calvary  of  the  Law!  How  hard,  how  almost  impos- 
sible, must  it  be  then  to  reach  such  with  the  message 
of  salvation,  unless  their  Moses  can  at  the  same  time 
proffer  them  some  prospect  of  escape  from  bondage ! 

The  middle  classes  have  more  leisure,  it  is  true, 
but  perhaps  even  less  inclination,  for  the  vital  godli- 


1854, 

Age  25. 


The  la- 
bouring 
classes. 


Israel  i)\ 


The  mod- 
ern Reho- 
boam. 


The  Cal- 
vary of 
the  Law. 


The  lei- 
sured 
class. 


i8o  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1854,  ness  which  would  check  them  in  their  wild  pursuit  of 
^^  ^^*  wealth,  or  force  upon  them  a  life  of  self-control  and 
sacrifice.  Those  who  are  not  engulfed  in  the  absorb- 
ing- worship  of  Mammon  are  mostly  enthralled  by  the 
fascinating  enchantments  of  pleasure.  And  between 
the  two  there  is  but  little  room  or  desire  for  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  A  press  that  largely  banishes  religion 
from  its  columns  caters  for  a  public  who  largely  ban- 
ish God  from  their  thoughts  and  affections. 
The  gold        And  the  higfher  we  rise  in  the  social  scale  the  more 

fever.  ^ 

is  this  experience  intensified.  The  gold  fever  grows 
worse.  The  pulse  beats  faster.  The  temperature 
increases.  Each  fresh  draught,  instead  of  quenching 
the  thirst,  maddens  the  victim,  who  may  well  cry  out — 

"Water,  water,  everywhere, 
But  not  a  drop  to  drink !  " 

The  gold  that  perishes  can  no  more  satisfy  his  im- 
mortal soul  than  could  the  salt  waters  of  the  ocean 
the  shipwrecked  mariner  upon  his  raft.  And  yet 
there  seems  no  limit  to  the  cursed  love  of  gold,  the 
'' auri  sacra  fames'"  oi  the  old  Roman  poet.  Well 
might  his  words  be  applied  to  our  modern  Rome : 

"'Get  money,  money' — is  the  cry! 
Honestly — if  you  can  ; 
If  not,  no  matter  how,  or  why  ! 
'Tis  money  makes  the  man  !  " 

The  imr-       And  thosc  who  are  not  votaries  of  wealth,  who  do 

pleasure,    not  make  piety  and  true  nobility  of  character  play 

second  fiddle  to  gold   {I'irtus  post  nunwtos),  are  in  an 

exaggerated  degree  the  devotees  of  pleasure  and  the 

victims  of  fashion. 

"  Faster  whirls  the  giddy  dance  ! 
Music  soft  and  song 
With  their  fatal  spell  entrance, 
Sweeping  them  along; 


LONDON  —  GUERNSEY.  i8i 

"  Quaff  ye  now  your  Lethe-draught ;  1854 

Soon  the  charm  shall  break  !  Age  25. 

Death  thy  doomed  soul  shall  waft 
To  the  fiery  lake  !  " 

It  may  be  said  that  the  above  remarks  apply  to  London  a 
other  cities  and  districts  besides  London.  This  is  true,  ''"'''^  ^°^^' 
but  surely  in  a  less  degree.  At  least  London  offers 
an  exaggerated  exemplification  of  them,  and  at  the 
time  of  which  we  write  it  had  been  the  subject  of 
but  few  revivals,  and  had  comparatively  foiled  the 
efforts  of  many  godly  labourers.  The  fact  therefore 
that  Mr.  Booth's  Spalding  successes  were  repeated  in 
London,  and  this  at  a  period  when  the  New  Connex- 
ion cause  there  was  low  and  struggling,  soon  attracted 
the  notice  of  other  circuits  where  circumstances  were 
more  favourable  for  the  expectation  of  a  revival. 
If  any  good  thing  could  come  out  of  this  Jerusalem, 
there  was  certainly  great  hope  for  the  outlying  Gali- 
lees  and  Bethlehems.  We  have  already  referred  to 
the  successful  meetings  in  the  East  End.  We  cull 
a  few  further  extracts  from  Mr.  Booth's  journal,  as 
to  his  successes  at  the  other  chapels : 

"May  28th,  1854,    Sunday. — Preached   in   the   morning  at        con- 
Albany  Road.  Some  little  liberty  in  urging  upon  the  people  of     Jf^'l^^f 
God  the  necessity  of  labouring  for   the  salvation  of   souls. 
Night,  at  Brunswick  Street  Chapel.  Good  congregation.  Power 
in  speaking.     Afterwards  the  communion  rail  was  crowded 
with  penitents.   Some  precious  cases.  To  God  be  all  the  glory ! 

"Sunday,  September  loth,  1854. — I  resumed  my  labours  at 
the  New  Chapel.  Congregations  very  good.  At  night  we 
had  a  glorious  prayer  meeting  and  a  precious  influence. 
Twelve  penitents  came  forward  and  sought  the  Lord,  and  I 
trust  many  found  Him." 

There  is  also  an  interesting  reference  to  Mr.  Booth's 
London  successes  in  a  letter  to  the  Neta  Connexion 
Magazine  from   Mr.  Josiah   Bates,   who  was    perhaps 


success. 


1 82  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1854,      the  most  influential  lay  member  of  the  organisation 
in  London.      He  writes  as  follows: 

An  oMt-         "  My  dear  Sir  : — It  affords  me  peculiar  pleasure  to  inform 

sidefs      yQ^  ^i^a^^-  q^j-  cause  in  this  place   continues  to  prosper. 
opinion.      ■'  ^  r-       I- 

"  I  regard  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  W.  Booth  to  this  cir- 
cuit as  providential.  He  is  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to 
be  ashamed.  Many  will  have  cause  to  bless  God  to  all  eternity 
that  he  was  ever  sent  among  us.  I  sincerely  hope  that  it 
may  please  God  to  continue  his  health  and  sustain  him  under 
the  arduous  labours  in  which  he  is  constantly  engaged. 
Would  to  God  we  had  a  host  of  such  men  in  addition  to  our 
present  staff  of  ministers !  In  that  case  we  should  soon,  as  a 
community,  double  our  present  numbers.  I  hope  the  next 
Conference  will  leave  Mr.  Booth  without  a  fixed  circuit,  so 
that  he  may  go  through  the  Connexion  as  an  evangelist;  and 
I  doubt  not,  if  he  retain  his  piety  and  dependence  on  the 
Divine  Spirit,  God  will  abundantly  own  his  labours  in  every 
circuit  he  may  visit. 

"  My  present  object,  however,  is  to  inform  you  that  during 
the  present  month  we  have  had  a  fortnight's  consecutive  re- 
vival services  conducted  by  Mr.  Booth.  A  short  but  solemn 
and  pointed  address  was  printed  and  circulated  extensively 
in  the  district.  It  may  be  said  of  the  entire  series  of  meet- 
ings that  they  were  indeed  times  of  refreshing,  and  the  only 
regret  felt  at  the  close  was  that  they  had  terminated.  The 
results  have  been  most  blessed  and  satisfactory.  About  thirty 
members  have  been  added  and  the  older  members  have  also 
been  quickened.  I  believe  the  good  effect  of  these  services 
will  be  found  after  many  days. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"JosiAH  Bates." 

Aweehin  The  appeals  fcr  Mr.  Booth's  services  from  other 
Bristol,  (jjgi^j-icj^s  in  the  Connexion  now  so  increased  in  num- 
ber and  importunity,  that  they  could  no  longer  be 
disregarded.  The  first  circuit  he  visited  was  Bristol, 
where  he  held  a  week's  meetings,  with  the  result  that 
about  fourteen  professed  salvation,  ten  of  whom  were 
added  to  the  society. 


LONDON  —  GUERNSEY.  183 

Mr.  Booth's  next  evangelistic  meetings  were  held      1854, 
in  Guernsey.      His  journal  and  letters  contain  some       ^^  ^^* 
interesting   references  to  them,  and   the  remarkable  a  trip  to 
results  achieved  doubtless  helped  to  decide  the  nature     ^^-^^^^y- 
of  his  work  during  the  next  eleven   years.     Indeed 
they  may  be  said  to  have  left  an  everlasting  mark  on 
the    subsequent    labours    of    both    himself    and    Mrs. 
Booth. 

"October    i6th,    1854. — In    compliance    with  an  invitation      Doubts 

from  the  New  Connexion  Church    in  Guernsey,  I  left  town  this   '^*^'^'  ^^iff^' 

culties 
evening.     Prior  to  starting,  the  object  and  probable  result  of 

my  visit  had  been  discussed  by  friends  in  London.  Various 
opinions  were  entertained  and  different  conjectures  raised  as 
to  the  probable  result.  Some  thought  that  my  visit  would  be 
promotive  of  the  salvation  of  souls  and  the  highest  well-being 
of  the  church,  and  some  thought  very  differently.  It  was 
stated  that  they  were  a  proud,  intellectual  and  wealthy  peo- 
ple, cold  and  formal,  the  very  opposite  of  what  I  should  de- 
sire. Some  even  went  so  far  as  to  intimate  that  my  visit 
would  be  useless  and  that  the  people  would  turn  away  from 
my  preaching  and  refuse  to  regard  it.  However,  I  left  Lon- 
don conscious  of  my  supreme  aim  and  desire  being  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  salvation  of  sinners,  and  depending  upon  Him 
and  the  power  of  His  Spirit  for  success." 

Mr.  Booth  subsequently  adds: 

"  I  reached  Guernsey  in  safety  by  the  mercy  of  God,  and 
was  soon  lodged  in  the  family  of  Mr.  John  Ozanne,  Mount 
Durant. 

"  In  the  evening  I  attended  the  prayer-meeting.     The  night      a  dis- 
was  a  stormy  one.     At  intervals  the  rain   descended  in  tor-   ^oiiraging 
rents.     I  expected,  of  course,  a  tolerable  attendance.     I  had       nhuj. 
come  200  miles,  was  a  stranger,  had  come  on  purpose  to  pro- 
mote a  work  which  demanded  prayer.     When  I  arrived  four 
persons  only  were    present,  besides  myself   and  the  chapel- 
keeper!     It  is   true    four  or  five   others  had  been  there,  had 
waited  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  had   then  gone  quietly  home 
instead  of  staying  to  pour  out  their  hearts  for  a  mighty  influ- 
ence, which  should  arouse  and  quicken  the  slumbering  church. 


1 84 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1854, 
Age  25. 


Thi-  fide 
tufns. 


Opening 
his  corn- 


He   des- 
eribes  the 
meetings. 


We  remained  and  pleaded  with  Heaven.  I  wrestled  in  prayer. 
God  heard,  and  the  results  will  show  how  gloriously  He  an- 
swered our  petition. 

"  The  following  -  morning  I  visited,  in  company  with  my 
host,  many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  church,  and  I  spoke 
with  them  kindly  and  affectionately,  relative  to  the  work  of 
God,  words  of  reproof  and  invitation,  which  I  have  every 
reason  to  believe  brought  forth  much  fruit. 

"  As  I  was  walking  up  one  street,  a  young  lady  in  deep 
mourning  was  coming  along.  'There,'  said  the  gentleman 
with  me,  'that  young  person  has  lost  her  mother.  She  is  one 
of  our  singers. '  And  he  immediately  introduced  me  to  her. 
I  spoke  to  her  about  her  soul,  and  the  tears  welled  up  in  her 
eyes,  and  as  I  left  her  I  remarked  to  Mr.  Ozanne  that  she 
would  be  among  the  first  fruits  of  the  revival.  That  night 
she  led  the  way  to  the  communion-rail,  and  I  afterwards  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  her  thanking  me  and  stating  that  her 
sister,  her  three  cousins,  and  a  friend  had  all  found  peace  with 
God  during  the  services. 

"  That  night  I  opened  my  commission  from  the  pulpit,  and 
if  ever  I  tried  to  preach  pointedly  and  plainly,  it  was  that 
night.     Four  penitents  came  forward. 

"  And  now  came  the  struggle.  Some  approved  my  preach- 
ing, but  did  not  like  my  plans  in  the  prayer-meeting ;  some,  I 
suppose,  disapproved  of  everything.  Some  looked  cold.  Some 
wished  me  success,  but  held  aloof  and  would  not  lend  a  hand. 
Nevertheless  I  continued  to  pray  and  believe  and  labour." 

Describing  the  meetings,  Mr.  Booth  writes  to  Miss 
Mumford  as  follows: 

Mount  Durant,  Guernsey,  17th  Oct.,  1854. 
"My  Dearest  and  Most  Precious  Love: — Last  night  I 
preached  my  first  sermon.  The  congregation  was  middling, 
very  respectable,  stiff  and  quiet.  I  let  off  a  few  heavy  guns 
at  the  lazy  formality  so  prevalent,  and  with  some  effect  They 
opened  their  eyes  at  some  of  the  things  I  said. 

"20th  October. — My  preaching  is  highly  spoken  of.  The 
Lord  is  working,  and  I  trust  that  to-morrow  we  shall  have  a 
crash — a  glorious  breakdown.  Already  the  Lord  has  given 
me  some  souls,  but  my  anxious  heart  cries  out  for  many  more. 


LONDON—  G  UERNSE  V.  185 

I  cannot  write  about  the  natural  beauties  of  the  place.  I  have  1854 
done  nothing  yet  but  sigh  for  and  seek  the  salvation  of  its  ^S^  5- 
inhabitants.  The  arrangements  for  the  services  were  misera- 
ble-not  even  a  notice  printed.  And  when  they  advertised 
the  anniversary  sermons  for  to-morrow  they  never  mentioned 
the  preaching  afterwards.  I  asked  the  good  brother  who  had 
the  thing  under  his  control  to  put  another  line,  but  he  said 
he  dare  not  without  the  consent  of  the  leaders'  meeting !  Poor 
fellows!  They  will  advertise  for  money,  but  are  ashamed  to 
advertise  for  souls ! 

••  God  bless  you.     Pray  for  me.     Look  for  a  fuller  and  com- 
pleter manifestation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  believe  me  as 

ever. 

"  Yours  in  betrothed  and  unalterable  affection. 

"  William." 

The  entries  in  the  jeurnal  continue  as  follows: 

"  Sunday  —Rose  with  a  delightful  sense    of    God's   favor  His  jour- 
and  anticipating  a  good  and  successful  day.     In  the  morning        ««  • 
the  congregation  was  very  good,  and  the  word,  I  am  convinced, 
went  with  power  to  many  hearts.     At  night  the  chapel  was 
crowded.     It   was  their  anniversary.     The   collections  were 
double  in  amount  those  of  last  year,  and  in  the  prayer-meet- 
ing  wonderful  victory  was  ours.     We  took  down  about  twenty-  ^TWy-^ 
six  names— some  most  interesting  and  glorious  cases.     Many      tuken. 
went  away  under  deep  conviction. 

"  Monday  —Good  news  comes  in  on  every  hand.     To-night, 
although   the  weather  is  most  unfavorable,  the  congregation 
has  been  very  good,  and  the  prayer-meeting  even  more  suc- 
cessful than  the  one  last  night.     Many  very  clear  cases  of  con-      Thirty-^^ 
version.     About  thirty-five  penitents. 

"  Tuesday  -The  excitement  increases.  The  congregation 
was  much  larger  and  a  great  number  of  penitents  came  for- 

'""^'"^Wednesday.- The  chapel  to-night  has  been  packed-fuller 
than  it  was  on  Sunday  night-and  the  prayer-meeting  vvas  a 
most  glorious  one.  We  did  not  conclude  until  10:30.  Very 
many  who  had  been  seeking  all  the  week  found  peace.       _ 

"  Thursday  —To-night  many  went  away  unable  to  get  into 
the  chapel.  The  aisles  were  crowded,  and  up  to  eleven 
o'clock  it  was  almost  an  impossibility  to  get  them  up  to  the 


1 86  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1854,       communion-rail,    owing  to   the  crush.     We  had  near  sixty 
Age  25.     penitents,  many  very  clear  cases,  and  I  doubt  not  over  sixty 
Sixty  pen-   niore  were  in  deep  distress  in  different  parts  of  the  chapel. 
itents.       'pj^g  parting  with  the  people  was  very  affecting. 

"  Friday.- — I  bade  farewell  to  Guernsey.  Many  came  down 
ing  fare-  to  the  pier  to  wish  me  good-bye,  and  when  the  packet  bore  me 
ivell.  away  and  I  caught  the  last  glimpse  of  their  waving 'hands  and 
handkerchiefs,  I  felt  I  had  parted  with  many  very  dear 
friends,  and  that  I  had  bidden  adieu  to  a  fair  spot,  where  I 
had  certainly  passed  one  of  the  happiest  fortnights  of  my 
brief  history." 

Further  On  his  Tetum  from  Guernsey,  Mr.  Booth  received 
pressing  invitations  to  visit  Longton  and  Hanley,  in 
the  Staffordshire  Potteries,  at  that  time  practically  the 
headquarters  and  chief  stronghold  of  the  New  Con- 
nexion. The  undertaking  appeared  to  him  to  be  too 
great  and  he  declined  to  go.  The  chapel  at  Hanley 
was  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  United  Kingdom — 
some  said  in  the  world.  Its  superintendent,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Mills,  was  the  President  of  the  Connexion.  Mr. 
Booth  aro^ued  that  he  was  young,  and  that  he  had  but 

His  00-  °  .  .  -  1   .         .  . 

jections  recently  entered  the  denomination ;  that  his  circuit 
would  suffer  by  his  prolonged  absence,  and  that  these 
irregular  services  would  hinder  him  in  preparing  him- 
self for  the  ordinary  pastoral  duties  of  the  future. 
But  the  President  was  not  to  be  refused.  Dr.  Cooke, 
Mr.  Bates,  and  other  friends  backed  up  the  invitation. 
The  circuit  agreed  to  part  with  him  for  a  month. 
Perhaps  they  would  have  been  less  willing  to  do  so 
had  they  foreseen  that  he  would  return  to  them  in  his 
ministerial  capacity  no  more.  The  visit  to  the  Potter- 
Further  i^s  Capped  Mr.  Booth's  previous  successes  and  finally 
successes,  established  his  reputation  as  a  revival  preacher,  the 
calls  for  his  services  becoming  now  so  numerous  that 
the  question  of  his  appointments  was  referred  to  the 
Annual  Committee,  which  transacted  the  business  of 


LONDON—  G  UERNSE  V.  187 

the  Connexion  between  the  sittings  t)f  the  Conference.      1855, 
It  was   decided  by  this  committee  that  a  substitute      ^^  ^  ' 
should  be  provided  to  take  Mr.  Booth's  place  in  the 
London  circuit,  and  that  the  next  few  months  should 
be  devoted  to  holding  evangelistic  services. 

To  give  anything  like  a  complete  account  of  these 
meetings  is  at  present  impossible.  Ample  material 
is  available,  but  must  be  reserved  for  the  future 
chronicler  of  Mr.  Booth's  career.  At  present  we 
satisfy  ourselves  with  a  few  extracts  from  his  diary 
which  will  suffice  to  throw  a  light  on  the  subsequent 
history  of  the  subject  of  these  memoirs.  The  double 
"  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time"  occasionally  move 
so  closely  together  that  in  tracking  the  one  we  cannot 
but  observe  the  other. 

"Sunday,    January   7th,    1855.— An   important  day  in  the       Fifty 
annals  of  Zion  Chapel.  Longton.     At  night  the  chapel  was    ^^f'/Jf/^^Jf 
comfortably  filled,  about  1,800  persons  present.  After  the  ser-        ton. 
mon,  fifty  precious  souls  cried  for  mercy.     This  gave  all  great 
encouragement. 

"Monday,  January  8th,  1855.— The  congregation  to-night 
has  been  excellent.  Preached  with  much  liberty,  and  Mr. 
McCurdy  intimated  after  the  service  that  every  sentence  was 
with  great  power.  We  had  about  thirty  penitents.  Many 
very  good  cases. 

"Thursday,  nth.— The  farewell.  The  chapel  very  full. 
more  so  than  on  Sunday  night.  A  grand  and  imposing  spec- 
tacle. How  solemn  the  responsibility  of  the  man  who  stands 
up  to  address  such  crowds  on  the  momentous  topics  of  Time, 
Eternity,  Salvation,  and  Damnation.  Lord,  help  me/  So  I 
prayed,  and  mighty  were  the  results.  We  took  down  about  J^.^^  ^^^^ 
sixty  names  this  night,  making  a  total  of  260  during  the  nine  ^-^^^^^^^^ 
days  that  I  had  stayed  at  Longton. 

"  Sunday,  January    14th.— My  first  Sabbath  at  Hanley.     It     Hanley 
has  been  a  remarkable  day  and  I  have  preached  twice  in  per-      chapel. 
haps  the  largest  chapel  in  the  world.     At  night  an  imposing 
congregation. 

"  I  had  much  anxiety  about  visiting  this  place  before  leav- 


i88 


MJiS.   BOOTH. 


1855, 
Age  26, 


Four  hun- 
dred  and 

siortij 
ncunes 
taken. 


Paying 
for   our 
enjoy- 
ments. 


Heart- 
yearn- 
ings, 


ing  London,  and  many  fears  as  to  my  fitness  for  so  large  a 
building  and  so  important  a  congregation.  I  was  astonished 
at  the  quietness  of  spirit  with  which  I  rose  to  address  so  large 
a  multitude,  comparatively  careless  as  to  their  mental  criticism 
of  the  messenger  and  absorbed  in  an  earnest  desire  for  the 
salvation  of  the  people. 

"Wednesday,  24th. — Congregations  increased.  During  the 
fortYiight  460  names  have  been  taken  down,  a  very  large  num- 
ber, but  not  many  in  proportion  to  the  vast  crowds  who  have 
attended  the  meetings.  Many  glorious  and  wonderful  cases 
of  conversion  have  transpired,  and  on  the  whole  I  cannot  but 
hope  that  the  services  have  exercised  a  very  salutary  effect 
on  the  society  and  neighbourhood." 

During  the  following  months  up  to  the  meeting  of 
the  Conference  in  June,  Mr.  Booth  conducted  services 
with  similar  results  at  Oldham,  Mossley,  Bradford, 
Gateshead,  and  Manchester,  returning  to  London 
about  the  middle  of  May  for  his  wedding.  But  before 
proceeding  to  describe  this  event,  we  must  conclude 
the  present  chapter  with  an  extract  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  him  by  Miss  Mumford  during  this  period,  in 
which  she  responds  to  a  proposal  for  her  to  visit  his 
newly-made  friends  in  Guernsey: 

"  Should  the  opportunity  ever  occur  I  shall  not  let  so  short 
a  voyage  hinder  me.  I  have  no  doubt  I  should  be  very  ill, 
but  it  would  only  be  for  a  little  while,  and  we  usually  have  to 
^ay  for  our  enjoyments  in  this  world.  There  is  no  rose  here 
without  its  thorn,  and  1  never  expect  to  be  able  to  travel 
much  without  fatigue  and  suffering.  So  if  ever  we  are  to  en- 
joy the  beauties  of  nature  together  you  must  not  mind  a  little 
bother. 

"  I  long  to  see  you.  Your  letters  do  not  satisfy  the  yearn- 
ings of  my  heart.  Perhaps  they  ought  to.  I  wish  it  were 
differently  constituted.  I  might  be  much  happier.  But  it  will 
be  extravagant  and  enthusiastic  in  spite  of  all  my  schooling. 
If  ever  I  get  to  Heaven,  what  rapture  shall  I  know !  What  a 
mercy  it  is  that  this  is  but  the  vestibule  to  a  future  existence, 
that  my  poor  soul  may  enjoy  a  glorious  future,  and  realise 


LONDON —GUERNSEY.  189 

not  only  the  perfection  of  all  its  powers,  but  the  satisfaction  1855, 
of  its  hitherto  insatiable  desires.  I  often  anticipate  the  time  Age  26. 
when  every  jarring  string  shall  be  removed  and  all  its  tender 
chords  be  susceptible  only  of  blissful  harmony.  How  sweet 
to  meet  then,  when  our  very  hearts  shall  be  open  to  each 
other's  gaze  and  no  envious  veil  come  between  to  hinder  the 
workings  of  each  other's  souls !  I  believe  that  unions  perfected 
in  Jesus  on  earth,  will  be  in  some  peculiar  sense  recognised 
and  perpetuated  in  Heaven.  But  oh,  to  live  for  it!  Will 
you  try?     And  help  me  also  ? 

"  No,  there  is  no  fear  of  us  loving  each  other  too  much.    How        The 
can  we  love  each  other  more  than  Christ  has  loved  us? — and    *^""^f*^"^^ 
this  is  the  standard  He  has  given.     Indeed,  this  love  will  only 
make  us  more  lovable  in  His  sight!    What  a  precious  thing  is 
the  religion  of  Jesus!     It  makes  our  first  duties  our  highest 
happiness !     It  has  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well . 
as  of  that  which  is  to  come.     We  will  spend  all  our  energies 
in  trying  to  persuade  men  to  receive  and  practise  it." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  WEDDING.      1855. 

A  strik.  Compared  with  the  principles  and  practice  of  the 
^^ralt^  Salvation  Army  in  later  years,  the  wedding  of  Mr. 
Booth  and  Miss  Mumford  presents  a  striking  contrast. 
Indeed,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  experience,  they 
have  not  scrupled  to  blame  themselves  for  having 
thrown  away  so  unique  a  chance  of  influencing  multi- 
tudes by  considering  their  personal  predilections 
rather  than  the  highest  interests  of  the  kingdom. 
They  were  now  so  well  known  both  in  the  Connexion 
and  among  the  Reformers  that  the  occasion  might 
easily  have  been  utilised  as  a  powerful  fulcrum  on  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 
Anoppor-       There  are  certain  important  domestic  events  which, 

ttiYl'tt'lJ 

though  strictly  speaking  of  a  private  character,  never- 
theless appeal  in  an  especial  manner  to  the  sympathy 
of  those  who  are  outside  the  narrow  family  pale. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  superabundance  of  joy 
or  sorrow  may  be  said  to  burst  the  ordinary  bounds 
of  stiff  and  cold  decorum,  and  it  has  been  the  time- 
honoured  custom  in  all  nations  for  relations,  friends, 
acquaintances,  and  even  the  public  at  large  to  rejoice 
with  those  who  rejoice,  and  to  weep  with  those  who 
weep.  If  such  a  course  be  allowable  and  even  laud- 
able in  the  world  at  large,  how  much  more  should 
this  be  the  case  v/ith  those  whose  religious  fellow- 
ship binds  them  in  the  closest  of  bonds,  not  only  for 
time,  but  for  eternity! 

190 


THE   WEDDING. 


191 


There  are  some  no  doubt  who  deprecate  this  as- 
sembling of  ourselves  together  on  such  occasions, 
and  who  would  relegate  all  such  demonstrations, 
when  they  are  of  a  religious  nature,  to  some  unseen 
and  speechless  limbo.  But  this  is  to  do  violence  to 
human  nature  and  to  sacrifice  some  of  the  tenderest 
links  which  bind  together  the  entire  fabric  of  so- 
ciety. There  are  certain  charms  to  the  magic  "  Hey ! 
presto!"  of  which  the  mortal  heart  spontaneously 
and  involuntarily  responds.  They  are  few  enough  as 
it  is,  and  the  onward  march  of  civilisation  tends  to 
diminish  their  ntimber  and  to  substitute  an  artificial 
and  powerless  condition  of  existence  such  as  would 
reduce  the  social  structure  to  separated  and  cohe- 
sionless  atoms.  We  cannot  throw  aside  these  spells 
without  the  danger  of  producing  chaos,  any  more  than 
we  can  dispense  with  mortar  in  putting  together  the 
bricks  that  compose  our  homes.  Man  is  truly  said  to 
be  a  gregarious  animal,  and  those  who  would  isolate 
him,  especially  in  the  moments  of  his  supreme  joy  or 
sorrow,  strive  to  do  they  know  not  what,  and,  in  de- 
claring war  against  his  universal  instinct,  would,  if 
successful,  inflict  upon  him  an  irreparable  injury. 

But  these  were  lessons  which  were  to  be  learnt  in 
later  life.  And  so  an  event  which  was  fraught  with 
consequences  of  everlasting  importance  to  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  souls,  was  enacted  in  all  the  empty 
quietude  of  a  congregationless  chapel.  Mr.  Booth 
led  his  bride  to  the  altar  in  the  presence  of  none,  save 
her  father,  his  sister,  and  the  officiating  minister. 
And  yet  perhaps  never  has  there  been  a  wiser  choice, 
a  more  Heaven-approved  union,  than  the  one  which 
was  thus  undemonstratively  celebrated  by  Dr. 
Thomas,  at  the  Stockwell  New  Chapel,  on  the  i6th 
June,  1855.     And  if  happiness  be  judged,  not  merely 


18SS. 
Age  26. 

Human 
links. 


A   quiet 
ivedding. 


16th  June, 
1855. 


192  MES.  BOOTH. 

1855,  by  the  measure  of  joy  personally  experienced,  but  by 
the  amount  imparted  to  others,  then  surely  it  may  be 
said  that  never  were  two  hearts  united  with  happier 
results.  "  The  joy  of  joys  is  the  joy  that  joys  in  the 
joy  of  others."  This  is  the  purest  and  most  unselfish 
form  of  happiness.  Marriage  too  often  degenerates 
into  the  merest  self-indulgence,  with  the  inevitable 
consequence  that  its  charms  decay  as  soon  as  it  loses 
the  gloss  of  early  courtship.  But  where  personal  in- 
terests, though  necessarily  consulted,  are  subordi- 
nated to  the  claims  of  God  and  humanity,  the  happi- 
ness that  ensues  is  both  perfect  and  permanent. 
An  inter-  And  yet,  while  for  some  reasons  we  cannot  but 
side-Ught.  I'^g^ct  the  loss  of  SO  valuable  an  opportunity  for 
gathering  the  people  together  and  for  impressing 
upon  them  the  claims  of  God,  the  incident  is  valuable, 
inasmuch  as  it  throws  an  interesting  side-light  upon 
the  actual  character  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth.  Far  from 
being  the  ardent  popularity-hunters  and  publicity- 
seekers  which  some  suppose,  it  has  been  through  life 
their  constant  lamentation  that  the  calls  of  duty  de- 
Theiriove  privcd  them  of  the  domestic  seclusion  which  they 
%acy  would  Otherwise  have  coveted.  Especially  was  this 
the  case  with  Mrs.  Booth.  Had  she  yielded  to  the 
bent  of  her  personal  inclinations,  she  would  have  in- 
finitely preferred  the  life  of  retirement  which  became 
less  and  less  possible  in  her  subsequent  .career,  and 
would  have  smuggled  away  her  talents  and  buried 
her  opportunities  in  some  secluded  retreat,  satisfied, 
like  so  many,  with  having  done  no  harm,  while  con- 
scious of  having  accomplished  but  little  good. 
Talent-  How  Surprising  it  is  that  such  a  low  standard  of 
^  ^^^'  morality  as  is  involved  in  this  talent- hiding  disposition 
should  satisfy  the  majority  of  mankind!  Who  can 
doubt  that,  however  congenial  it  may  be  to  our  natural 


THE   WEDDING.  193 

love  of  ease,  it  is  entirely  foreign  to  that  spirit  of  ^^^55,^ 
Christianity  which  was  designed,  if  for  anything  at 
all,  to  lift  us  out  of  the  slough  of  selfishness,  and  to 
plant  the  feeblest  feet  upon  the  rock  of  benevolence. 
This  at  least  was  the  gospel  for  which  William  and 
Catherine  Booth  contended,  and  in  resolutely  dis- 
regarding the  natural  barriers  of  reserve  and  timidity 
which  would  so  often  have  hindered  them  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  life-enterprise,  they  were  able  to 
unearth  and  consecrate  to  God's  service  the  hitherto 
dormant  talents  of  tens  of  thousands. 

Hence,  when  in  later  years  the  same  opportunity  ^o  tur^ 
recurred  in  the  marriage  of  their  children,  it  was  no 
shallow  thirst  for  show  which  prompted  them  to  pur- 
sue so  opposite  a  course  to  that  which  they  had 
adopted  at  their  own  wedding.  The  opportunity  of 
impressing  upon  the  world  at  large  what  marriage 
might  and  ought  to  be  was  too  valuable  to  be  lost. 
And  the  great  fundamental  principle  prevailed  of  ^^I'^T 
sacrificing  personal  preferences  for  the  all-absorbing  vrindpU. 
claims  of  God's  kingdom.  The  trade  winds  were 
blowing  too  favourable  a  breeze  for  the  fleet  to  lie 
at  anchor.  It  might  be  necessary  at  times  to  scud 
under  bare  poles  across  stormy  seas,  or  even  to  seek 
for  a  while  some  sheltering  haven,  but  that  was  no 
reason  for  discarding  opportunities  so  favourable, 
some  of  which  come  but  once  in  a  lifetime  and  pass 
away,  if  neglected,  never  to  return. 

Man's  instinct  is  to  imitate,  and  the  example  of  a  ^  ff^^^^^" 
public  wedding  in  which  frivolity  and  extravagance    frmnin^i 
—those  curses  of  society— were  conspicuous  only  by    uhiting. 
their  absence,  who  could  overestimate?     The  picture 
of  a  union  in  which  there  was  joy  without  folly,  and 
in  which  the  highest  interests  of  God  and  man  sup- 
planted the  whims  of  private  caprice  and  the  mer- 
13 


194 


MJiS.  BOOTH. 


185s, 
Age  26, 


God's 
purposes 

often 

born   in 

obscurity. 


cenary  motives  of  worldly  wisdom,  may  well  be 
framed  and  exhibited  for  a  few  brief  hours  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  even  the  most 
careless  passer-by.  Mere  display  for  its  own  sake  is 
as  contemptible  as  a  gilded  frame  without  a  picture. 
To  this  the  frameless  picture  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth's 
wedding  is  indeed  infinitely  preferable.  God's  pur- 
poses can  afford  at  times  to  be  born  in  obscurity. 
Nay,  the  very  gloom  from  which  they  emerge  may 
heighten  the  after  effect. 


The 

threshold 

of  a  new 

life. 


"  'Tis  thus  God  often  shapes  His  choicest  plan 
Far  out  of  ken  and  reach  of  every  man, 
Then  suddenly  in  daylight  broad  unfolds 
His  wisdom  !     All  the  earth  amazed  beholds 
And  doth  His  goodness  better  understand, 
Adores  perforce  His  wonder-working  hand  ! 
Thus,  in  a  bud,  profusion  of  green  leaves 
And  blossoms  richly  coloured  close  He  weaves, 
Forgetting  not  for  bees  the  honey-drop. 
Nor  even  there  His  matchless  skill  doth  stop  ! 
Perfumes  that  seem  so  delicate  and  rare. 
And  yet  so  strong  their  fragrance  fills  the  air, 
Like  angel's  breath,  defying  human  skill, 
Hid  in  that  bud,  encloses  He  at  will. 
Just  when  to  outward  eye  no  hope  is  left, 
And  of  its  last  green  leaf  the  tree's  bereft, 
He  sends  His  workers — all  at  variance  seem — 
The  rain,  the  dew,  the  wind,  and  the  sunbeam — 
And  then,  when  all  in  turn  their  part  have  played, 
Behold  each  twig  with  leaf  and  flower  arrayed !  " 

And  now  Catherine  Booth  found  herself  on  the 
threshold  of  the  life  of  usefulness,  which  had  consti- 
tuted the  subject  of  her  girlhood's  dreams  and  the 
summit  of  her  Christian  aspirations.  By  her  side 
was  the  man  of  her  heart's  choice.  The  impetus 
•which  springs  from  unity  of  aim  and  purpose,  was 
now  in  the  fullest  sense  her  own.  The  position  for 
which,  especially  during    the    past    three    years,  she 


THE   WEDDING.  195 

had   so   diligently   been    preparing,  was   within   her      1855, 
grasp.     She  realised  at  once  its  opportunities  and  re-    ^^^  ^^' 
sponsibilities,  and  rose  to  meet  them  with  unfailing 
grace,  dignity,  and  power. 

There  are  some  characters  which  appear  to  best  f'hnr<y- 
advantage  at  a  distance.  Courtship  invests  them  with  h',-<n- iZlk- 
a  false  halo  which  enhances  for  a  time  their  super-  '"^  "^* 
ficial  attractions  and  conceals  their  defects,  but  which 
disappears  after  the  first  few  days  of  married  life.  A 
celebrated  painter  is  said  to  have  silenced  one  of  his 
critics  by  explaining  that  his  pictures  were  "  not  in- 
tended to  be  smelt S'  Looked  at  from  a  distance  such 
characters  possess,  like  these  pictures,  a  beauty  which 
fades  away  on  closer  acquaintance.  Catherine  Booth 
was  not  one  of  these.-  Nothing  could  exceed  the  es- 
teem and  affection  of  those  who  knew  her  best.  The 
very  fact  that  she  laid  herself  out  rather  for  their 
benefit  than  to  win  golden  opinions  for  herself,  se- 
cured their  everlasting  respect.  Mr.  Booth  realised 
increasingly  that  in  her  he  had  found  the  wise  man's 
ideal  of  a  wife,  and  had  obtained  favour  of  the  Lord. 

As  soon  as  the  wedding  was  over  Mr.  and  Mrs.    ^  second 

visit  to 

Booth  proceeded  to  Ryde,  in  the   Isle  of  Wight,  but  Guernsey. 
remained  there  only  a  week,  when  they  took  steamer 
to  Guernsey,  where  they  received  a  hearty  welcome 
and    found   themselves   the    guests    of    Mr.  Booth's 
former  host  and  friend,  Mr.  Ozanne. 

From  the  ordinary  point  of  view  it  would  appear  to 
have  been  a  strange  honeymoon,  so  early  did  public 
claims  trespass  upon  domestic  peace.  On  reaching 
Guernsey  they  found  a  crowd  of  people  on  the  pier 
anxiously  awaiting  their  arrival. 

Meetings  had  been  already  arranged,  and  without  Another 
further  pause  they  found  themselves  launched  into  all  ^''"'^"  • 
the  opportunity  and  excitement  of  a  powerful  revival. 


196 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1855,  In  describing  these  meetings  to  her  mother,  Mrs. 

^^  ^  ■    Booth  writes : 

"  William  is  preaching  to-night.  I  feel  so  sorry  that  I  am 
not  well  enough  to  go  and  hear  him.  The  doors  were  to  be 
open  at  half-past  five  to  admit  the  seat-holders  before  the  crush. 
The  interest  has  kept  up  all  through  the  services  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  I  have  never  witnessed  before.  It  would  do  you  good 
to  see  some  of  the  prayer-meetings — chapel  crowded,  upstairs 
and  down.  There  have  been  some  precious  cases  of  conver- 
sion, but  not  so  many  as  William  expected." 

Before  leaving  Guernsey,  the  following  autographs 
were  entered  in  the  album  of  a  friend : 


Some 
early    aw- 
tographs. 


"  Life  with  me,"  writes  Mr.  Booth,  "  has  had  its  dark  shadows 
and  its  gloomy  days.  And  yet  it  has  not  been  all  sadness. 
There  have  been  silvery  linings  to  its  darkest  clouds.  I  have 
tasted  many  of  its  sweets,  and  have  drunk  deeply  of  its  pass- 
ing excitements.  I  have  known  somewhat  of  the  quiet  joys 
of  home,  the  pleasure  of  friendship,  the  thrilling  delights  in- 
spired by  beholding  the  creations  of  man's  genius,  and  the 
lovely  and  picturesque  in  nature.  But  no  emotions  that  ever 
filled  my  heart  were  so  rapturous,  so  pure,  so  heaven-like,  as 
those  that  have  swelled  my  heart,  while  standing  surrounded 
by  penitent  souls,  seeking  mercy  at  the  hand  of  Calvary's 
Prince.  The  cries  of  the  weeping,  the  prayers  of  the  men  and 
women  of  God,  and  the  songs  of  rejoicing  alternately  as- 
cending, have  made  to  me  music  the  most  melting  and  glori- 
ous of  any  ever  heard  outside  the  portals  of  the  Temple  of 
Heaven." 

Mrs.  Booth  writes  as  follows: 

"  The  woman  who  would  serve  her  generation  according  to 
the  will  of  God,  must  make  moral  and  intellectual  culture  the 
chief  business  of  life.  Doing  this  she  will  rise  to  the  true 
dignity  of  her  nature,  and  find  herself  possessed  of  a  wonder- 
ous  capacity  for  turning  the  duties,  joys,  and  sorrows  of  do- 
mestic life  to  the  highest  advantage,  both  to  herself  and  to  all 
those  within  the  sphere  of  her  influence. 

"July  20th,  1855.  Catherine  Booth." 


THE   WEDDING.  197 

Beneath  this  entry  her  eldest  daughter  afterwards      1855, 
adds  the  following  remarks : 

"  Thirty  years  ago  my  beloved  mother  wrote  in  this  book,     The  Ma- 
years  before  I  was  born.     Words  would  fail  to  express  all  her    ^^axiio-  ^ 
example   and   influence  have  done  for  her   children,   all   of      graph. 
whom  now  speak  for  her  in  the  gate !     My  one  and  only  joy 
is  to  follow  in  her  steps  and  turn  men  from  darkness  to  light, 
fully  realising  how  short  the  time  is  and  how   more  than 
worthy  is  our  Redeemer  of  every  moment  of  my  life. 

"June  5th,  1885.  Catherine  Booth." 


CHAPTER  XX. 


The  Con- 
ference''s 
resolu- 
tion. 


Seventeen 
hundred 
and 
thirty- 
nine  peni- 
tents in 

four 
months. 


Glorious 
residts. 


One  hun- 
dred  and 
one  seek- 
ers in  one 
night. 


REVIVALS  AND  CORRESPONDENCE.      1855. 

The  five  months  of  evangelistic  work  which  pre- 
ceded his  marriage  had  established  for  Mr.  Booth  a 
widespread  reputation  for  devotion,  ability,  and  suc- 
cess, so  that  when  the  Annual  Conference  had  met  at 
Sheffield,  just  previous  to  the  wedding,  it  was  resolved 
that  "  the  Rev.  William  Booth,  whose  labours  had 
been  so  abundantly  blessed  in  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, be  appointed  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  to 
give  the  various  circuits  an  opportunity  of  having  his 
services  during  the  coming  year." 

The  results  had  indeed  been  remarkable.  In  the 
space  of  four  months  no  less^than  1,739  persons  had 
sought  salvation  at  nine  separate  centres,  besides  a 
considerable  number  at  four  or  five  other  places,  of 
which  we  have  no  particulars.  This  gave  an  average 
of  214  for  each  circuit  visited,  or  161  for  each  week, 
and  2  3  for  each  day  during  the  time  that  meetings  were 
being  held.  At  Longton,  during  the  first  visit  there 
were  260  in  nine  days,  and  during  the  second  visit  97  in 
four  days.  At  Hanley,  there  were  460  in  a  fortnight ; 
at  Burslem,  262  in  one  week;  at  Mossley,  50  in  five 
days;  at  Newcastle-under-Lyme,  290  in  one  week;  at 
Bradford,  160  in  a  fortnight,  and  at  Gateshead,  a  simi- 
lar number  in  the  same  time.  Not  included  in  the 
above  was  Guernsey,  where,  during  Mr.  Booth's  first 
visit,  200  souls  sought  salvation  in  the  space  of  a 
fortnight.  It  was  an  ordinary  occurrence  for  40,  50, 
and  60  persons  to  come  forward  to  the  communion 


REVIVALS  AND   CORRESPONDENCE.       199 


1855, 
Age  26. 


A  trying 
voyage. 


rail  each  night,  and  at  Burslem  we  read  in  the  Nczo 
Connexion  Magazine,  that  on  a  single  occasion  loi 
names  were  taken.  Besides  those  who  actually  pro- 
fessed conversion,  large  numbers  of  persons  became 
convinced  of  sin,  and  were  gathered  in  after  the 
special  services  were  over. 

From  Guernsey  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded  to     Jersey. 
Jersey,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  hall  in  which 
the  meetings  were  held  has  since   become  an  Army 
Barracks. 

The  return  voyage  was  a  very  trying  one.  Mrs. 
Booth  was  always  a  wretched  sailor,  and  this  trip  was 
certainly  one  of  her  worst.  She  had  been  for  some 
time  in  very  poor  health,  and  it  now  became  manifest 
that  it  would  be  impossible  for  her  to  accompany  her 
husband  in  fulfilling  the  next  appointments  marked  out 
for  him  by  the  Annual  Committee.  It  was  therefore 
decided,  much  to  their  mutual  disappointment,  that 
Mrs.  Booth  should  remain  at  home  with  her  mother 
till  well  enough  to  travel,  while  Mr.  Booth  proceeded 
to  York,  in  fulfilment  of  his  next  engagement.  How 
keenly  they  felt  the  separation  may  be  judged  from 
the  first  letters  interchanged  by  them,  after  Mr. 
Booth  had  left : 


A  first 
l^arting. 


"  3  Castle  Gate,  York,  August  4th.  1855. 

"Mv  Precious  Wife: — The  first  time  I  have  written  you 
that  endearing  appellation!  Bless  you  a  thousand  times! 
How  often  during  my  journey  have  I  taken  my  eyes  from  off 
the  book  I  was  reading  to  think  about  you— yes,  to  think  ten- 
derly about  you,  about  our  future,  our  home  and  its  endear- 
ments. 

"  Shall  we  not  again  commence  a  life  of  devotion,  and  by 
renewed  consecration  begin  afresh  the  Christian  race? 


"  O  Kate !   be  happy.      You  will  rejoice  my  soul    if   you 
send  me  word  that  your  heart  is  gladsome,  and  your  spirits 


200 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


Age  26. 


are  light.     It  will  help  you  to  battle  with  your  illness,  and 
make  the  short  period  of  our  separation  fly  away. 

"  Bless  you !  I  feel  as  though  a  part  of  my  very  self  were 
wanting — as  though  I  had  left  some  very  important  adjunct 
to  my  happiness  behind  me.  And  so  I  have.  My  precious 
self.  I  do  indeed  return  that  warm  affection  I  know  you  bear 
toward  me. 

"  Your  faithful  and  affectionate  husband, 

"  William." 


Mrs. 
Booth   re- 

s2Jonds.     sponse : 


To  this  letter  Mrs.  Booth  sent    the  following  re- 


Philoso- 

phy  ver- 
sus love. 


"August  6th,  1885. 

"  My  Precious  Husband  : — A  thousand  thanks  for  your 
sweet  letter.  I  have  read  it  over  many,  many  times,  and  it 
is  still  fresh  and  precious  to  my  heart.  I  cannot  answer  it,  but 
be  assured  not  a  word  is  forgotten  or  overlooked. 

"  As  soon  as  you  were  out  of  sight,  I  felt  as  though  I  could 
have  performed  the  journey  with  far  less  suffering  than  to 
stay  behind.  It  was  a  supremely  wretched  day,  and  long  be- 
fore night  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  come  to  you,  sick  or  well, 
on  Wednesday.  You  say,  'But,  Kate,  how  foolish!  Why  did 
you  not  think  and  reason?'  I  did,  my  darling!  I  philoso- 
phised as  soundly  as  you  could  desire.  I  argued  with  myself 
on  the  injustice  of  coming  here  and  making  my  dear  mother 
miserable  by  leaving  her  so  soon — on  the  folly  of  making  my- 
self ill — on  the  selfishness  of  wishing  to  burden  you  with  the 
anxiety  and  care  my  presence  would  entail.  But  in  the  very 
midst  of  such  soliloquies,  the  fact  of  your  being  gone  beyond 
my  reach,  the  possibility  of  something  happening  before  we 
could  meet  again,  the  possible  shortness  of  the  time  we  may 
have  to  spend  together,  and  such  like  thoughts  would  start 
up,  making  rebellious  nature  rise  and  swell  and  scorn  all  re- 
straints of  reason,  philosophy,  or  religion.  The  only  comfort 
I  could  get  was  from  the  thought  that  I  could  follow  you  if  I 
liked.  And  binding  this  only  balm  tightly  to  my  heart,  I 
managed  to  get  a  pretty  good  night's  rest. 

"  Remember  me  always  as  your  own  faithful,  loving,  joyful 
little  wife, 

"  Catherine." 


REVIVALS  AND   CORRESPONDENCE.       201 

From  York  Mr.  Booth  proceeded  to  Hull,  and  he      1855, 
was   joined  on   his  way  at  Selby  junction    by    Mrs.       ^^  ^ 
Booth,  who  had  now  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able  They  meet 
to  travel.     The  meetings  were  of  the  usual  stirring    "     ^  ' 
and  successful  character,  as  may  be  judged  from  the 
following  report  sent  to  the  Nczv  Connexion  Magazine 
by  the  Rev.  J.  Addyman,  the  local  minister: 

"  On  the  Sabbath  morning  at  7  o'clock,  we  had  a 
glorious  prayer-meeting,  which  spoke  well  for  the 
day.  The  congregations  exceeded  our  expectations. 
In  the  evening  the  chapel  was  full,  and  the  extra- 
ordinary ministry  of  the  preacher  produced  an  im- 
pression which  we  trust  will  not  soon  be  effaced. 
Appropriate  and  vivid  were  the  illustrations,  and  the 
appeals  for  an  immediate  decision  were  heart-search- 
ing. Many  sighs,  groans,  and  heart-felt  responses 
were  heard  throughout  the  congregation.  Many 
came  forward  to  the  altar  and  sought  mercy.  Ten 
were  blessed  with  a  sense  of  pardon,  and  went  home 
rejoicing. 

"  On  Wednesday  evening  the  meeting  was    com-    a  thun- 
menced   under    a   very  gracious  influence.     Brother    cannon- 
Booth  preached  a  most  telling  and  effective  sermon,     prayer. 
Conviction  took  deep  hold  on  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  many  literally  groaned  in  spirit.     The  prayer- 
meeting   opened  with   great   power.     It  was   like  a 
thundering  cannonade.     The  people  came  forward  in 
rapid,  succession.     Fourteen  professed  to  find  peace, 
while  others  went  away  still  mourning. 

"  The  second  Sabbath  commenced  as  the  previous 
one.  At  night  we  had  a  packed  chapel,  communion 
rails,  pulpit,  stairs,  etc.  On  account  of  the  great  num- 
ber of  people  present  we  had  some  difficulty  in  get- 
ting the  prayer-meeting  into  good  working  order,  but 
by  the  discreet  management  of  our  leader  we  sue- 


202  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1855,  ceeded.  The  meeting  was  pervaded  by  a  hallowed 
and  powerful  influence,  and  thirty-eight  persons  pro- 

eiqht^sp'ek  ^^ssed  to  find  peace  with  God, 

salvation.  "  Qn  Thursday  our  brother  preached  his  farewell 
sermon,  when  every  part  of  the  chapel,  even  to  the 
top  of  the  pulpit-stairs,  was  densely  thronged.  It  was 
eleven  o'clock  before  we  could  bring  that  truly  'anx- 
ious' meeting  to  a  final  close.  I  never  witnessed 
such  a  scene.  Forty-eight  persons  gave  their  names 
in  as  converts. 

Two  hun-       "  During  these  memorable  seasons  we  have  entered 

dred   and 

seventii     the  names  of  270  persons.     These  services  have  been 


names 


taken,  conducted  throughout  with  great  order  and  propriety, 
and  attended  by  people  of  various  denominations. 
Our  excellent  brother  Booth  was  carried  beyond  him- 
self, and  fears  were  entertained  lest  he  should  break 
down,  but  God  has  graciously  sustained  him." 

After  reaching  Hull,  Mrs.  Booth  sent  the  following 
letter  to  her  parents : 

A  letter  to  "My  Own  Dear  Parents: — My  dear  husband  has  gone  to 
ler  lome.  (;|-^g^pg|^  r^^^  though  I  am  but  ill  able  to  sit  up,  I  will  send  you 
a  line. 

"  Well,  I  got  through  the  journey  better  than  I  expected. 
The  guard  was  exceedingly  kind  and  attentive.  If  I  had  been 
rich,  I  should  have  given  him  lialf-a-sovcreign. 

"  My  precious  husband  met  me  at  Milford,  and  was  de- 
lighted to  see  me.  He  is  kinder  and  more  tender  than  ever, 
and  is  very,  very  glad  I  came.  Bless  him !  He  is  worth  a 
bushel  of  the  ordinary  sort. 

"  Considering  we  are  only  at  the  start,  the  work  wears  the 
most  encouraging  aspect  of  anj^  place  he  has  yet  visited,  and 
he  is,  therefore,  in  excellent  spirits. 

"  I  have  told  William  about  my  dear  mother's  kindness  to 
me  and  he  desires  me  to  send  his  very  warm  love  and  heart- 
felt thanks.  As  to  myself,  I  feel  very  grateful  for  so  much 
unmerited  kindness.  It  is  indeed  sweet  to  be  so  cared  for. 
God  bless  you  both ! 


REVIVALS  AND   CORRESPONDENCE.       203 

"  I  have  every  comfort  and  attention,  so  be  easy  about  me,       1855, 
and  believe  me  as  ever  and  more  than  ever,  ^S®  ^^• 

"  Your  affectionate  and  grateful  child, 

"  Catherine." 

After  spending:  a  short  time  together  at  Hull,  Mr,  Caistor 
and  Mrs.  Booth  went  for  a  couple  of  days'  rest  and 
change  to  Caistor,  the  scene  of  the  remarkable  in- 
gatherings already  recorded.  Owing  to  Mrs.  Booth's 
continued  ill-health,  it  was  decided  that  she  should 
here  remain  until  the  conclusion  of  the  work  in  Hull. 
While  staying  in  Caistor  she  wrote  as  follows  to  her 
mother : 

"  I  heard  from  William  this  morning.  They  had  a  trium- 
phant day  on  Sunday,  the  chapel  packed  and  upwards  of  forty 
cases  at  night,  some  of  them  very  remarkable  ones.  He  will 
finish  up  at  Hull  on  Thursday,  and  come  here  on  Friday  for 
a  week's  rest  previous  to  commencing  the  services  at  Sheffield. 
I  anticipate  his  coming  much. 

"  It  is  such  a  splendid  country.  As  I  rambled  out  in  the  Her  love 
green  lanes  this  morning,  hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  fields  ^{°^j''!,^ 
of  golden  corn,  in  which  the  reapers  are  busy  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  surrounded  by  the  most  lovely  scenery  of  hill  and 
dale,  wood  and  garden,  I  did  wish  you,  my  dear  mother, 
could  come  and  spend  a  fortnight  with  me.  As  for  Hull,  I 
would  much  prefer  Brixton,  and  our  di'f  of  garden  to  the  great 
majority  of  its  homes.  It  is  like  being  in  fairy-land  here, 
after  being  there,  though  I  had  every  kindness  and  attention 
heart  could  desire.  But  you  know  how  precious  fresh  air  is 
to  me  at  all  times,  or  I  would  not  be  a  voluntary  exile  from 
my  beloved  husband,  even  for  a  week.  Bless  him !  He  con- 
tinues all  I  desire. 

"  I  am  glad  you  changed  the  boots.  Fudge  about  paying  me ! 
I  should  think  you  wore  an  extra  pair  out  in  running  up  and 
down  stairs  after  me,  when  I  located  my  troublesome  self  at 
Brixton  last.     Whether  or  not,  it  is  all  right. 

"  We  are  to  have  apartments  at  Sheffield.     You  cannot  think 
with  what  joy  I  anticipate  being  to  ourselves  once  more.     It  y^^.  ^ome. 
will  seem  like  being  at  home,  sweet  home.     For  though  I  get 


204 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i8S5, 
Age  26. 


A  message 

to  her 

father. 


literally  oppressed  with  kindness,  I  must  say  I  would  prefer 
a  home,  where  we  could  sit  down  together  at  our  own  little 
table,  myself  the  mistress  and  my  husband  the  only  guest. 
But  the  work  of  God  so  abundantly  prospers  that  I  dare  not 
repine,  or  else  I  feel  this  constant  packing  and  locating 
amongst  strangers  to  be  a  great  burden,  especially  while  so 
weak  and  poorly.  But  then  I  have  many  mercies  and  advan- 
tages. My  precious  William  is  all  I  desire,  and  without  this 
what  would  the  most  splendid  home  be  but  a  glittering  bau- 
ble? Then,  too,  by  living  in  different  families  and  places,  I 
have  much  room  for  observation  and  reflection  on  various 
phases  of  life  and  character  which  I  hope  will  benefit  my 
mind  and  increase  my  knowledge,  and  thus  fit  me  for  future 
usefulness  in  my  family,  the  church,  and  the  world.  May  the 
Lord  help  me ! 

"  Tell  father  that  he  must  not  wait  for  a  change  of  circum- 
stances before  he  begins  to  serve  God,  but  seek  ^fr.?/  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  and  then  the  attending  promise  will  belong 
to  him,  and  I  believe  God  will  fulfil  it.  I  wish  he  could  be  in- 
troduced into  such  a  revival  as  that  at  Hull.  God  is  doing 
great  and  marvellous  things  there. 

"'He  is  bringing  to  His  fold 

Rich  and  poor  and  young  and  old. ' " 

At  the  same  time  she  wrote  as  follows  to  Mr. 
Booth : 


A   beauti- 
ful des- 
cription. 


"  My  Own  Sweet  Husband  : — Here  I  sit  under  a  hedge  in 
that  beautiful  lane  you  pointed  out  to  me.  It  is  one  of  the 
loveliest  days  old  earth  has  ever  basked  in.  No  human  being  is 
within  sight  or  sound.  All  nature  seems  to  be  exulting  in  ex- 
istence, and  your  moralising  little  wife  is  much  better  in  health 
and  in  a  mood  to  enjoy  all  these  beauties  and  advantages  to 
the  utmost.  I  have  had  a  vegetarian  breakfast,  and  one  of 
the  most  refreshing  dabbles  in  cold  water  I  ever  enjoyed. 
And  now,  after  a  brisk  walk  and  reading  your  kind  letter,  I 
feel  more  pleasure  in  writing  to  you  than  anything  else  un- 
der heaven  (except  a  personal  interview)  could  give  me. 

"  I  bless  God  for  His  goodness  to  you  on  Sunday,  and  hope 
that  for  once  thou  wast  satisfied !  If  so,  it  would  have  been 
a  treat  to  have  seen  thee !     I  feel  perfectly  at  home  here  and 


REVIVALS  AND   CORRESPONDENCE.       205 


experience  just  that  free,  sweet,  wholesome  kind  of  at- 
mosphere which  I  have  so  long  been  panting  for.  My  natural 
spirits  are  in  a  high  key  this  morning.  I  feel  as  if  I  could 
get  over  a  stile  just  at  hand  and  join  the  lambs  in  their  gam- 
bols !  My  soul  also  rises  to  the  great  and  benevolent  Creator 
of  us  all,  and  I  feel  stronger  desires  than  for  a  long  time 
past  to  be  a  Christian  after  His  own  model,  even  Christ  Jesus. 

"  Oh,  I  wish  you  were  here.  I  think  you  would  rest  quiet 
a  little  tvhile!  It  is  so  like  what  it  will  be  when  there  is  no 
more  curse,  when  they  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  God's 
holy  mountain,  but  when  the  lion  and  the  fatling  shall  lie 
down  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them !  Oh  what 
a  glorious  time  is  coming  for  the  real  children  of  God — to 
those  who  do  His  will  !     Lord  help  us  ! 

"  The  bells  are  ringing  and  guns  firing  on  account  of  the  news 
that  Sebastopol  is  taken.  But  I  should  think  it  is  a  delusion. 
Anyhow  I  cannot  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  victory.  I 
picture  the  gory  slain  and  the  desolated  homes  and  broken 
hearts  attending  it,  and  feel  saddened.  What  a  happy  day 
will  it  be  for  the  world  when  all  Christians  shall  protest 
against  war,  when  each  poor  mistaken  Peter  shall  have  heard 
Jesus  say,  'Put  up  again  thy  sword  into  his  place,  for  all  they 
that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword!'  What  a 
fearful  prediction,  if  it  applies  to  nations  as  well  as  to  in- 
dividuals !  And  hitherto  it  has  been  fulfilled  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  If  it  is  yet  Lo  be  fulfilled  in  our  history,  what 
will  be  our  fate  as  a  people? 

"  Believe  me,  as  ever,  thy  own  in  earth's  tenderest,  closest, 
and  strongest  bonds, 

"  Catherine." 


1855, 
Age  26. 


High 
spirits. 


The    neivs 
of  Sebas- 
topol. 


Her  feel- 
ings in  re- 
gard to 
war. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


The  first 

visit  to 

Sheffield. 


Mrs. 

Booth 
describes 
their  re- 
ception. 


SHEFFIELD— CHATSWORTH— CORRESPON- 
DENCE.     1855. 

The  visit  to  Sheffield  is  so  fully  described  in  Mrs. 
Booth's  letters  to  her  parents  that  we  hail  the  oppor- 
tunity of  reporting  it  in  her  own  words.  The  meet- 
ings lasted  for  a  month,  from  23d  September  to  24th 
October,  and  included  five  Sabbaths.  No  less  than 
663  professed  conversion  during  this  time,  the  work 
increasing  week  by  week  in  power  and  success. 
Indeed  it  broke  off  at  its  very  height,  arousing  a  con- 
siderable controversy  in  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth's  minds 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  abandoning  such  an  opportunity 
when  circumstances  seemed  favourable  for  an  even 
larger  ingathering.  But  we  turn  to  Mrs.  Booth's  own 
narrative : 

"Sept.  24th,  1855. 
"  We  arrived  here  two  days  ago.  The  Rev.  W. 
Mills  (ex-President  of  the  Connexion)  met  us  at  the 
station  and  accompanied  us  to  our  host's.  So  that, 
after  all,  we  are  not  to  be  to  ourselves.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  beautiful  home,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town, 
within  ten  minutes'  walk  of  the  cemetery,  and  over- 
looking some  splendid  scenery.  I  feel  this  to  be  a 
special  blessing  in  my  present  sickly  condition.  I 
don't  know  what  I  should  do  if  we  were  located  in 
the  town,  which  for  smoke,  I  thought  as  we  entered  it, 
must  rival  the  infernal  region  itself.     It  appears  a 

206 


w. 

Mills. 


SHEFFIELD— CHATSWORTH.  207 

very  large,  populous,  and  thriving  city.    But  of  course    ^^^55,^ 
I  have  not  seen  much  of  it  yet. 

"They  had  a  grand    beginning    yesterday  at  the    -4^y«|>^ 
chapel,  and  took  twenty  names.     William  is  posted      «mg. 
on  the  walls  in  monster  bills  in  all  directions,  and 
it  appears  from  the  congregations  that  his  fame  was 
here  before  him.     I  trust  the  work  will  be  equal  or 
superior  to  Hull. 

"September  27th. — We  dined  and  took  tea  with  Rev 
Mr.  Mills,  yesterday.  This  is  the  same  minister  who 
was  Superintendent  of  the  Hanley  Circuit,  where 
William  had  such  a  glorious  revival  last  year.  He  is 
a  nice  man,  very  gentlemanly  and  intelligent.  He 
gave  William  his  opinion  of  mc,  which  I  fear  was 
very  flattering. 

"  I  have  been  to  chapel  two  evenings.  The  work 
is  rising  in  power,  influence,  and  importance,  and 
bids  fair  to  become  very  mighty.  On  Tuesday  even- 
ing seven  or  eight  ministers  of  different  denomina- 
tions were  present.  The  celebrated  John  Unwin,  of 
Sheffield,  of  whom  you  have  often  heard  me  speak 
and  read,  as  a  leading  Reformer,  and  Mr.  Caughey's 
host  and  intimate  friend,  sat  just  behind  me. 

"Luke  Tyerman  is  in  Sheffield,  and  lives  not  far 
from  our  residence.  We  think  of  going  to  see  him, 
and  intend  to  hear  him  preach  before  Ave  leave. 

"  You  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  my  letter  on 
the  training  of  young  converts  is  copied  from  the 
New  Connexion  Magazine  into  the  Canadian  Christian 
Witness.  So  it  has  found  a  sympathiser  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic. 

"October  5th.— The  work  progresses  with  power. 
We  have  been  to-day  to  call  on  Mrs.  Thomas  Firth. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  homes  I  ever  visited 
and  has  a  very  kind  and  sympathetic  lady  for  its  mis- 


2o8 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1855, 
Age  26. 


Domestic 
happi- 
ness. 


The  prog- 
ress of 
the  work. 


All 
classes  at- 
tend. 


tress,  I  have  had  several  interviews  with  her  and 
like  her  very  much.  I  feel  her  sympathy  to  be  a 
special  boon  just  now.  You  know  what  a  great  de- 
sideratum this  is  ztnt/i  me. 

"October. — I  should  love  to  see  you.  I  never  was 
so  happy  before.  My  cup,  so  far  as  this  world  goes, 
seems  full.  With  the  exception  of  the  drawback  of  a 
delicate  body  and  being  without  an  abiding  home,  I 
have  all  I  want.  My  precious  William  grows  every 
day  more  to  my  mind  and  heart.  God  is  blessing 
him  richly  both  in  his  own  soul  and  in  his  public  la- 
bours. He  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  man  of 
prayer  and  of  one  purpose. 

"  The  work  progresses  with  mighty  power.  Every- 
body who  knows  anything  of  this  society  is  aston- 
ished, and  the  mouths  of  gainsayers  are  stopped. 
God's  Son  is  glorified  and  precious  souls  are  being 
saved  by  scores.  Four  hundred  and  forty  names 
have  been  taken,  and  to-morrow  is  expected  to  be  a 
crowning  day.  There  is  to  be  another  love-feast  in 
the  afternoon,  making  three  since  we  came. 

"October. — The  work  goes  on  gloriously.  On  Sun- 
day night  the  chapel  was  packed  to  suffocation,  and 
after  a  powerful  sermon  a  mighty  prayer-meeting 
ensued,  in  which  upwards  of  sixty  names  were  taken, 
some  of  them  very  important  and  interesting  cases. 
People  of  all  grades  and  opinions  attend  the  services, 
from  members  of  the  Town  Council  to  the  lowest 
outcasts.  Last  night  (Monday)  was  what  William 
calls  a  precious  night,  and  Mr.  Mills,  the  ex-Presi- 
dent, says  the  sermon  was  both  beautiful  and  effective. 

"  I  have  not  been  to  chapel  since  I  had  the  doctor. 
I  feel  it  a  great  privation,  but  all  other  trials  are 
more  than  compensated  by  the  kindness  and  attention 
of  my  beloved  husband.     He  gets  more  affectionate 


SHEFFIELD—  CHA  TS  WOR  TH.  209 

every  day,  and  often  tells  me  he  never  dreamed  of      1855, 
being  half  so  happy.     He  has  just  been  up  to  the      ^^  ^  ' 
room  in  which    I    am  writing,  telling  me  it  is  the 
climax  of   his  happiness  to  have  me  with  him,  and 
exhausting  his  vocabulary  of  kind  words  and  tender 
epithets.    I  tell  you  this,  because  I  know  your  mother- 
heart.     Bless  the  Lord !     My  full  soul  often  vents  it 
self  in  asking, 'Whence  to  me  this  waste  of  love?'  Oh, 
for  more  devotedness  to  God !     Then  I  should  indeed 
be  satisfied. 

"October. — William's  mother  is  staying  here.  I  Mr. 
must  say  I  anticipated  seeing  my  new  mother  with  mother. 
much  pleasure  and  some  anxiety,  but  at  our  first 
interview  the  latter  vanished  and  I  felt  that  I  could 
both  admire  and  love  her.  She  is  a  very  nice-looking 
old  lady,  and  of  a  very  sweet  and  amiable  spirit. 
William  had  not  at  all  over-estimated  her  in  his  de- 
scriptions. I  do  wish  she  lived  within  visiting  dis- 
tance of  you.     I  am  sure  you  would  enjoy  her  society. 

"  I  went  to  chapel  yesterday  and  witnessed  a  scene  An  affect- 
such,  as  I  had  never  beheld  before.  In  the  afternoon  ^"^  ^^^"^' 
there  was  a  love-feast,  and  it  was  indeed  a  feast  of 
love.  The  chapel  was  packed  above  and  below,  so 
much  so  that  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty  the  bread 
and  water  could  be  passed  about.  The  aisles  and 
pulpit  stairs  were  full,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  chapel 
persons  rose  to  testify  of  the  power  of  God  in  con- 
nexion with  the  services.  It  was  an  affecting  time, 
both  to  me  and  to  William's  mother,  when  some  one 
called  down  blessings  on  his  head,  to  hear  a  general 
response  and  murmured  prayer  all  through  the  build- 
ing. 

"  At  night  we  got  there  at  five  minutes  to  six,  and    a  forest 
found  the  chapel  crowded  and  the  vestry  half  full.   ""^  ^^'"^^' 
I  was  just  returning  home  when  a  gentleman   told 
14 


2IO  MRS.    BOOTH. 

1855,      me  there  was  a  seat  reserved  for  me  in  Mr.  Mills' 
^^     '    pew,    which,  after   some   difficulty,  I    reached.     The 
chapel  presented  a  most  pleasing  aspect,  a  complete 
forest  of  heads   extending  to  the  outside  of    every 
door,  upstairs  and  down.     Mr.  Shaw  opened  the  ser- 
vice, and  William  preached  with  marvellous  power. 
For  an  hour  and  ten  minutes  everybody  was  absorbed 
and  riveted.     Though  scores  were  standing,  they  had 
a  glorious  prayer-meeting,    in  which  seventy  names 
were    taken,  many  of    them  being  very  satisfactory 
cases.     I  would  have  given  something  considerable 
for  you  to  have  been  there. 
A  mighty       "  Octobcr  22d. — We  had  a  wonderful   day  at  the 
chapel    yesterday,    a    tremendous   erowei   jammed    to- 
gether like  sheep  in  a  pen,  and  one  of  the  mightiest 
sermons  at  night  I  ever  listened  'to,  from  'Will  a  man 
rob  God  ?     Yet   ye   have  robbed    Me ! '     The   chapel 
continued  crowded  during  the  prayer-meeting,    and 
Jx^names  before  half-past  ten  o'clock  seventy-six  names  were 
taken,     taken.     All  glory  to  God ! 

"  My  dearest  has  been  very  prostrated  to-day,  but 
is  preaching  again  to-night.  They  had  collections  to 
defray  the  incidental  expenses  of  the  services  yester- 
day and  raised  £2^,  far  beyond  anybody's  expec- 
tations. 

"The  farewell  sermon  is  to  be  on  Wednesday  night, 
when  he  will  finish  up  five  weeks'  services,  having 
preached  twice  on  Sundays  and  four  nights  a  week  in 
the  same  chapel. 

"  A  letter  from  the  Annual  Committee  this  morning 
says  he  must  not  visit  the  other  chapel  in  this  town. 
The  friends  are  in  a  dreadful  way  about  it.  They 
talk  of  calling  a  meeting  of  office-bearers  and  petition- 
ing for  it.  But  I  don't  think  it  will  be  of  any  use,  as 
the  committee  have  arranged  for  six  places  between 


SHEFFIELD— CHA  TS  WOR  TH. 


211 


now  and  May,  and  even  this  leaves  some  of  the  most 
important  and  needy  towns  out  altogether. 

"  My  dear  William  is  very  mueh  harassed  about 
having  to  leave  a  place  before  his  own  convictions  of 
duty  favour  it.  It  is  a  solemn  thing,  and  he  feels  his 
responsibility  as  he  never  did  before.  May  the  Mas- 
ter undertake  for  him.  I  believe  that  if  God  spares 
him  and  he  is  faithful  to  his  trust,  his  usefulness  will 
be  untold,  and  beyond  our  present  capacity  to  esti- 
mate. He  is  becoming  more  and  more  effective  every 
day,  and  God  seems  to  be  preparing  him  in  his  own 
soul  for  greater  things  yet.  Oh,  for  grace  to  surren- 
der our  whole  selves  to  do  His  will ! 

"October  24th. — Your  very  kind  letter  is  to  hand, 
and  though  I  wrote  yesterday  I  cannot  forbear  send- 
ing you  a  few  lines  to-day.  You  seem  low  and  poorly, 
and  I  feel  that  I  must  try  and  comfort  you  a  bit.  I 
am  sorry  you  were  disappointed  in  not  hearing  from 
me  on  Saturda3%  but  you  must  never  attribute  it  to 
neglect  or  indifference  when  I  omit  writing.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  I  cannot  /nip  it.  There  are 
many  circumstances  and  arrangements  to  which  I  am 
subject  w^hicli  would  be  otherwise,  had  I  a  quiet  re- 
tired home  of  my  own.  Yesterday,  for  instance,  I 
had  not  half  an  hour  at  my  own  disposal.  So  when- 
ever I  don't  send  you  my  accustomed  letter  always 
conclude  it  is  because  I  cannot,  for  I  assure  you,  my 
will  and  heart  always  prompt  me  to  do  so.  (It  was 
Mrs.  Booth's  rule  to  write  to  her  parents  at  least  once 
a  week,  and  throughout  life  she  recommended  it  to 
others.) 

"  I  received  all  your  letters,  and  although  I  did  not 
mention  them,  I  think  I  referred  to  the  contents  of 
each.  Bless  you!  I  have  read  them  through  several 
times,  and  shed  some  tears  over  them,  too!     Don't 


1855, 
Age  26. 


An  unfin- 
ished 
work. 


Cheering 

her 
mother. 


Assur- 
ances of 
love. 


2  12  MRS.   BOOTH. 

i8ss,  imagine  that  because  I  am  so  happy  in  my  husband, 
^^  ^  '  and  have  so  many  things  to  claim  my  attention,  that 
I  think  or  careless  about  you.  I  don't  believe  I  ever 
loved  or  valued  you  so  much,  and  I  am  sure  I  never 
longed  to  see  you  more.  My  thoughts  constantly 
stray  off  to  you,  and  I  am  continually  wishing  you 
could  share  my  joys  and  prosperity. 
DonH  "Don't  worry!  I  have  seen  the  folly  of  my  former 

worry .     j^^g  ^^  apprehension,  distrust,  and  sinful  despondency 
in  regard  to  the  future.     Oh,  try  to  learn  the  lesson 
from  me,  and  don't  anticipate  evil  which  may  never, 
never   come!     I  consider   it    nonsense  to  talk  about 
your   uselessness!     What    else    can    you   do?     Your 
path  at  present  seems  shut  to  where  you  are,  and  it 
may  be  God  is  more  glorified  by  your  standing  still 
and  patiently  waiting  the  development  of  His  pur- 
poses, than  by  a  much  more  active  life.     I  know  it 
is  hard  to  trust  and  hope  when  we  can  see  nothing. 
I  have,  as  you  know,  often  felt  it  so.     But  now  the 
clouds   have    dispersed,    and    the    day    shines,    how 
plainly  I  see  that  I  might  have  been  much  happier, 
if  I  had  trusted  the  Lord  more.     He  was  doing  for 
me  the  very  things  which  I  most  desired,  but  because 
clouds  and  darkness  so  often  appeared  to  be  round 
about  me,  you  are  a  witness  to  my  murmurings  and 
mistrust.     Oh,    let   us   learn   to   believe    His   word. 
*  Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord,  and  He  will  direct 
thy  steps.'     The  Lord  help  us,  for  even  yet  I  need 
Trusting   much  faith  in  God  for  the  future.      I  am  often  dread- 
thefu-     fully  tempted  to  entertain  gloomy  anticipations,  and 
to  think  that  my  present  lot  is  too  happy  to  last  long. 
I  suffer  muchanxiety  about  my  dear  husband's  health. 
Luke      Everybody  predicts  his  breaking  down.     Luke  Tyer- 
maZs     man  told  him  yesterday  that  neither  he  nor  any  other 
opinion.    ^^^  could  Stand  it  long,  and  I  often  fear.     But  at 


SHEFFIELD— CHA  TS  IVOR  TH. 


213 


present  God  strengthens  him  wonderfully.  How 
true  it  is  we  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth, 
in  regard  to  our  joys  no  less  than  with  reference  to 
our  anticipated  sorrows. 

"  Thursday  noon . — They  finished  up  last  night 
gloriously.  Though  it  was  a  very  wet  night  the 
chapel  was  packed  in  every  part,  and  scores  went 
away  unable  to  get  in.  The  friends  described  the 
scene  to  me  as  very  affecting  and  unprecedented  in 
their  history  when  the  people  took  leave  of  William, 
at  near  eleven  o'clock.  They  passed  in  a  continuous 
stream  across  the  communion-rail  from  one  side  of 
the  chapel  to  the  other,  while  the  choir  sang,  'Shall 
we  ever  meet  again?'  They  took  forty-eight  names, 
making  a  total  of  663." 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  meetings,  the  Confer- 
ence Committee,  at  the  instance  of  the  Sheffield 
friends,  agreed  to  a  fortnight's  rest,  which  was  spent 
at  Chatsworth,  where  Mrs. Booth  writes  to  her  mother 
as  follows: 


185s, 
Age  26. 


Six  hun- 
dred   and 
sixty- 
three 
names 
taken. 


"Chatsworth  Park,  October  27th. 
"  We  arrived  here  this  morning  for  a  few  days'  rest 
before  going  on  to  Dewsbury.  The  Sheffield  friends 
have  been  exceedingly  kind.  There  was  a  meeting 
on  Thursday  night  of  office  bearers,  locat  preachers, 
and  leaders,  to  hear  an  address  from  William  on  the 
best  means  of  sustaining  and  consolidating  the  work. 
It  was  a  very  important  gathering  and  was  attended 
by  a  number  of  influential  people.  They  decided  that 
the  address  should  be  published.  The  gentleman 
with  whom  he  had  been  staying  bore  a  most  flattering 
testimony  to  the  benefit  his  whole  family  had  derived 
from  William's  stay  among  them,  and  styled  it  a  high 
honour  to  have  had  the  privilege  of  entertaining  us. 


Fareivell 
to  Shef- 
field. 


2  14  MRS.   BOOTH. 

185s,      The  unanimous  and  kind  solicitude  manifested    was 
Agfe  26 

overwhelming  and  sufficient  to  have  made  any  man 

destitute  of  the  grace  of  God,  vain. 
Chats-  "  I  thought  and  talked  much  of  you  on  the  journey 

Park,  here,  as  I  rode  over  those  Derbyshire  hills  and  wit- 
nessed its  wild  and  romantic  scenery.  It  is  a  splen- 
did spot  where  we  are  located,  right  inside  the  park, 
where  we  can  see  the  deer  gambolling.  I  feel  a 
peculiar  interest  in  the  scenes  around,  doubtless  owing 
to  its  being  my  native  county,  and  you  will  not  deem 
it  strange  that  associated  with  such  feelings  I  should 
think  more  about  the  authors  of  my  being.  Bless 
you !  I  hope  the  sun  of  prosperity  will  yet  rise  and 
shine  upon  you,  as  you  descend  the  hill  of  life,  and 
that  I  shall  be  permitted  to  rejoice  in  its  rays, 
■^^s  "  28th  October. — This  afternoon  we  walked  through 

scenery.  ° 

the  park  right  up  to  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's  resi- 
dence. It  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  spots  I  was 
ever  in.  It  is  all  hill  and  dale,  beautifully  wooded 
and  bestudded  with  deer  in  all  directions.  The  resi- 
dence itself  is  superior  to  many  of  the  royal  palaces, 
and  the  scenery  around  is  most  picturesque  and  sub- 
lime. This  splendid  spot  is  ours  for  a  week  in  every 
sense  necessary  to  its  full  enjoyment,  without  any  of 
-  the  anxiety  belonging  to  its  real  owner, 

"  This  first  day  of  our  stay  has  been  a  very  blessed 
one.  I  could  not  tell  you  how  happy  we  both  are, 
notwithstanding  my  delicate  health  and  our  constant 
migrations.  We  do  indeed  find  our  earthly  heaven 
in  each  other.  Praise  the  Lord  with  me,  and  oh, 
pray  that  I  may  so  use  and  improve  the  sunshine  that 
if  the  clouds  should  gather  and  the  storm  arise,  I  may 
be  prepared  to  meet  it  with  calmness  and  resignation. 

"  At  present  my  dearest  love  bears  up  under  his 
extraordinary  toil  remarkably  well,  and  seems  to  be 


SHEFFIELD—  CHA  TS  IVOR  TH.  2  1 5 

profiting  already  from  this  rest  and  change.  I  never  1855, 
knew  him  in  a  more  spiritual  and  devotional  condition  ^^  ^  ' 
of  mind.  His  character  daily  rises  in  my  esteem  and 
admiration,  and  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  affec- 
tion for  me.  He  often  tells  me  he  could  not  have 
believed  he  should  ever  have  loved  any  being  as  he 
loves  me.  Has  not  the  Lord  been  gracious  to  me  ? 
Has  He  not  answered  my  prayers?  And  oh,  shall 
I  not  praise  Him  and  serve  Him?  Yea,  I  am  resolved 
to  do  so  with  all  my  heart, 

"  November  2d. — Thursday  was  a  fine  frosty  day,  MMieton 
of  which  we  took  due  advantage.  Directly  after 
breakfast  we  started  for  a  walk  of  four  miles  to  see 
the  rocks  of  Middleton  Dale.  The  scenery  all  the 
way  was  enchanting.  I  could  scarce  get  along  for 
stopping  to  admire  and  exclaim.  The  dark  frowning 
cliffs  on  one  hand,  the  splendid  autumnal  tints  of 
rich  foliage  on  the  other,  and  the  ever  varying  views 
of  hill  and  dale  before  us,  all  as  it  were  tinged  with 
glory  from  a  radiant  sky,  filled  us  with  unutterable 
emotions  of  admiration,  exhilaration,  and  joy. 

"  William  constantly  saluted  some  passer  on  the  a  Derby- 
road,  and  from  all  received  a  regular  Derbyshire  re-  ^sponse^ 
sponse.  One  old  man,  in  answer  to  a  question  as  to 
the  distance  we  were  from  the  Dale,  said  he  reckoned 
'Welley'  four  miles,  it  'met'  be  about  'thra'  and  a  half. 
I  thought  of  poor  Liz  filling  the  pan  'welley'  full  of 
potatoes ! 

"  Well,  we  reached  the  Dale,  and  were  not  at  all 
disappointed  with  the  scenery.  It  is  a  long  narrow 
road  with  cliffs  from  a  hundred  to  two  hundred  feet 
high  on  either  side,  jutting  out  here  and  there  like 
old  towers  of  a  by-gone  age,  and  frowning  darkly  on 
all  below.  I  wish  I  could  describe  the  wild  grandeur 
of  the  place,  but  I  have  neither  time  nor  ability. 


2i6  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1855,  "  We  walked  about  half  a  mile  up  the  dale,  and 

^^  ^  ■  then   I  rested  and  got  a  little  refreshment  at  a  very 

An  an-  ancient  and  comical  kind  of  inn.     William  walked 

cientinn.  ^^^^  ^  ^.^^    further.       During    this   time     I    had    a 

very  cosy  and  to  me  amusing  chat  in  rich  Derby- 
shire brogue  with  an  old  man  over  his  pipe  and  mug 
of  ale. 

"  After  resting  about  half  an  hour  we  bent  our  steps 
homewards,  where  we  arrived  soon  after  two.  I  felt 
tired,  but  considering  I  had  walked  at  least  nine 
miles  during  the  day,  I  reckoned  myself  worth  many 
dead  ones." 

During  their  stay  at  Chatsworth,  some  Sheffield 

Sir  Mark  f^ieuds   Came  over  for  the  day.     One  of  them,  Mr. 

Firth.      Mark   Firth,  was  afterwards  knighted  on  the  occasion 

of  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Sheffield.     Mrs. 

Booth  thus  describes  their  visit : 

"  This  morning  we  were  just  preparing  to  visit 
Chatsworth  House  and  to  explore  a  part  of  the  park 
we  had  not  seen,  when  to  our  surprise  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fenton,  and  Mr.  Mark  Firth,  brother  to  the  gentle- 
man named  in  my  former  letter,  came  to  the  door. 
They  had  driven  over  in  their  phaeton  to  spend  the 
Climbing  day  with  US.  So  we  set  off  to  climb  some  tremendous 
t  e  I  s.  -^^Yls,  in  order  to  reach  a  tower  built  in  the  highest 
part  of  the  park  grounds.  I  got  about  half-way  up 
and  then  my  strength  failed  me,  and  I  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  sit  down  and  wait,  while  the  rest  of  the 
party  completed  the  ascent.  After  much  persuasion 
I  carried  my  point  and  was  left  alone,  sitting  on  a 
stone,  my  eyes  resting  on  one  of  the  loveliest  scenes 
I  ever  expect  to  witness  in  this  world.  I  enjoyed 
my  meditations  exceedingly.  I  was  on  an  elevation 
about  as  high  as  St.  Paul's,  with  a  waterfall  on  one 
side  of  me,  and  the  most  romantic  scenery  you  can 


Mrs.  Mumford. 


SHEFFIELD— CHA  TS  WOR  TH. 


2i; 


imagine  all  around,  above  and  below.  The  old  Duke 
ought  to  be  a  happy  man,  if  worldly  possessions  can 
give  felicity.  But,  alas!  we  know  they  cannot.  And 
according  to  all  accounts  he  is  one  of  those  to  whom 
they  have  failed  to  impart  it. 

"The  ducal  mansion  is  a  magnificent  building  sit- 
uated in  the  most  romantic  portion  of  the  park.  Sir 
Joseph  Paxton's  home  is  between  the  lodge  and  the 
Duke's  residence.  It  is  a  fine  building,  quite  a  gen- 
tleman's seat,  and  yet  it  is  only  eighteen  years  since 
he  came  here  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  man  who 
keeps  the  lodge,  and  who  works  still  as  a  plodding 
gardener.  They  both  came  on  to  the  estate  together, 
and  at  equal  wages,  which  were  very  low.  And  now 
one  is  'Sir  Joseph,'  known  all  over  the  world,  while 
the  other  is  still  but  keeper  of  the  lodge." 

For  some  years  past  the  Salvation  Army  has  cele- 
brated its  anniversary  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  for  the 
designing  of  which  Sir  Joseph  Paxton  received  his 
honours.  How  small  a  world  it  is,  after  all,  and  how 
strangely  do  its  happenings  overlap  and  interlace  each 
other ! 


1855, 
Age  26. 


Riches 
unable    to 
confer 
happi- 
ness. 


Sir 
Joseph 
Paxton. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

DEWSBURY. 

Hersevere  Dewsbury  was  Mr.  Booth's  next  appointment. 
I  ness.  Yleve  Mrs.  Booth  was  prostrated  with  a  severe  attack 
of  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  from  which  for  some 
time  serious  consequences  were  feared.  She  recov- 
ered, however,  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  attend  the 
closing  meetings  of  the  revival. 

Has  re-        She  ascribcd  her  improved  health  to  homoeopathy, 

7wmcro"  which  she  had  for  some  time  been  practising  with 
iMthy.  increasing  confidence  and  benefit.  The  system  had 
been  recommended  to  her  about  three  years  previously, 
and  by  its  means  she  had  succeeded  in  curing  an 
obstinate  sore  throat,  which  had  long  resisted  the 
ordinary  allopathic  remedies.  This  had  induced  her 
to  make  a  careful  study  of  several  books  bearing  on 

ff^ff^s^  the  subject,  with  the  result  that  she  was  still  further 
tern.  convinced  as  to  the  soundness  of  the  fundamental 
principles  on  which  homoeopathy  is  based.  Since  her 
marriage  she  had  taken  advantage  of  the  enforced 
leisure  necessitated  by  her  delicate  health  to  carefully 
study  Hahnemann's  "Organon,"  determined  that  she 
would  not  rest  short  of  thoroughly  mastering  what 
seemed  likely  to  prove  so  useful  to  her  in  after  life. 
She  knew  something  of  allopathy,  but  it  appeared  to 
her  to  be  a  system  rather  of  palliatives  than  of  cura- 
tives, often  substituting  graver  evils  for  those  which 
it  sought  to  combat.  Hence  her  mind  was  open  to 
receive  fresh  light,  and  to  study  the  claims  of  any 

218 


DEWSBURY.  219 

remedies  which  professed  to  afford  permanent  relief.      1855, 
In  subsequent  years  she  largely  adhered  to  the  prac-       ^^  ^  " 
tice  of  homoeopathy,  acknowledging  to  have  derived 
considerable  benefit  from  its  use,  both  in  her  own 
case  and  in  that  of  her  family. 

The  services  commenced  in  Dewsbury,  on  Sunday,    The  Dews- 
the  4th  November,  and  were  concluded  on  Monday,     rexivai. 
the  3d  December.     In  the  Magazine  for  January,  the 
editor  refers  to  the  work  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Our  last  number  furnished  our  readers  with  an  account  of 
the  glorious  revival  at  Sheffield,  and  the  commencement  of 
one  at  Dewsbury,  both  of  which  were  still  going  on  at  the  time 
we  went  to  press.     As  one  indication  of   the  good  work  at 
Sheffield  South,  we  have  been  called  upon  to  supply  three  hun- 
dred probationers'  tickets.     Respecting  Dewsbury,  the  letter 
of  the  Rev.  Saxton  affords  the  cheering  intelligence  that  four        „ 
hundred  and  forty  souls  have  been  brought  to  a  religious  de-    hundred 
cision.     This  news  will  gladden  the  hearts  of  thousands  and   "^'^•^5'/^ 
evoke  the  grateful  exclamation.  Praise  Jehovah !    Hallelujah     vation. 
to  His  blessed  Name !    Our  beloved  brother,  Mr.  Booth,  is  now 
at  Leeds.     The  prayer  of  our  heart  is  that  similar  signs  may 
there  attend  his  evangelistic  labours." 

But  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  quote  from  Mr.  Sax- 
ton's  long  and  interesting  report  of  the  Dewsbury 
meetings,  since  we  have  Mrs.  Booth's  letters  written 
at  the  time  during  the  intervals  of  her  illness : 

"November  5th. — We  arrived  here  the  day  before       Mrs. 
yesterday,   about  6  p.m.     Two   preachers  met  us  at  ffrfbesthe 
the  station,  and  accompanied  us  to  our  host's,  where    '"^^''"S'^- 
we  received  a  very  cordial  welcome. 

"  The  services  commenced  zve//  yesterday,  the 
chapel  being  quite  full  at  night.  The  faith  of  our 
friends  rilns  very  high  for  something  glorious.  Our 
expectation  is  from  the  Lord.  May  He  abundantly 
fulfil  it. 

"November  12th. — William  got  the  Wcshyan  Times, 


:^26 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i8ss, 
Age  26. 


Thawing 
the   ice. 


Locking 
the  gates. 


and  read  the  letter  you  refer  to.  The  writer  is  a  Mr. 
Little,  of  Leeds,  so  he  will  soon  have  an  opportunity 
of  judging  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  revivals  attend- 
ant on  our  mission.  Some  of  his  remarks  are  un- 
questionably just  2,ndi  justifiable,  when  applied  to  some 
persons  assuming  the  title  of  Revivalists.  I  have 
often  been  distressed  by  the  wildness  and  extrava- 
gance of  such,  and  am  the  last  to  tolerate  noise  with- 
out influence,  or  ignorant  and  profane  dealing  with 
sacred  subjects.  Mr.  Little  appears  to  be  an  oppo- 
nent of  Mr.  Poole,  and  probably  his  remarks  are 
chiefly  directed  against  him.  If  so,  however,  I  think 
them  severe  and  unjust.  Well,  if  God  gives  us 
such  a  work  at  Leeds  as  we  had  at  Sheffield,  neither 
Mr.  L.,  nor  any  other  'little'  man,  will  be  able  to 
disparage  it. 

"  The  work  here  is  progressing  gloriously,  though 
we  found  a  people  frozen,  formal,  and  quite  out  of 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  a  revival.  Several  of  the 
'nobs'  still  stand  aloof,  if  they  don't  actually  ridicule. 
The  excitement,  however,  is  gradually  taking  hold  of 
the  town,  and  sinners  are  being  converted  every  night. 

"  Yesterday  was  a  precious  day.  In  the  morning 
the  chapel  was  quite  full,  and  at  the  love-feast,  in  the 
afternoon,  crowded.  Between  thirty  and  forty  per- 
sons spoke,  and  the  collection  amounted  to  four  times 
the  ordinary  sum.  At  night  the  chapel  was  so 
densely  packed  that  at  about  five  minutes  past  six 
William  had  to  request  the  friends  to  lock  the  gates 
in  order  to  prevent  any  more  crushing  in.  I  never 
heard  him  preach  with  such  liberty  and  power.  The 
congregation  appeared  literally  riveted  to  their  seats. 
In  the  middle  of  the  sermon,  when  the  subject 
reached  a  climax  and  he  seemed  exhausted,  he  started 
the  congregation  singing : 


DEWSBURY.  22  1 

"'O  happy  day,  that  fixed  my  choice  1855, 

On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God.'  Age  26. 

"  This  was  followed  by : 

"  'And  above  the  rest  this  note  shall  swell, 
My  Jesus  hath  done  all  things  well ! ' 

"  It  was  like  Heaven  below,  and  in  the  prayer-meet- 
ing that  followed  they  took  twenty-seven  names. 

"  I  seldom  go  on  a  week-night  now,  as  I  cannot 
sit  in  hot  places  long  together.  Last  night  I  could 
scarcely  remain  till  the  sermon  was  over.  I  am  sorry 
for  this,  as  I  might  often  render  efficient  help  at  the  Helping 
communion-rail,  where  a  certain  amount  of  intelli-  pJl'/^nts. 
gence  and  aptness  in  dealing  with  penitents  is  often 
sadly  deficient.  But  I  must  rest  content  at  home  for 
the  present.  However,  I  possess  every  comfort  and 
find  a  constant  solace  and  a  balm  for  every  suffering 
in  the  unvarying  love  and  attention  of  my  precious 
husband.  I  often  wish  you  could  see  how  happy  we 
are.  Oh,  it  is  a  precious  thing  to  experience  perfect 
satisfaction  in  the  object  of  one's  affection!  And  I 
believe  we  both  enjoy  it!     Praise  the  Lord! 

"  22d  November. — I  am  happy  to  tell  you  that  I  con- 
tinue to  improve  and  am  downstairs  to-day.  My 
cough  is  much  better,  and  I  hope  now  soon  to  be  as 
well  as  usual.  We  remain  here  till  Friday  or  Satur- 
day week,  and  then  go  on  to  Leeds,  where  we  are  to 
spend  six  weeks,  three  at  one  end  of  the  circuit,  and 
three  at  the  other.  I  believe  we  are  to  have  a  very 
nice  home  where  there  are  no  children ;  quite  a  re- 
commendation, seeing  how  they  are  usually  trained ! 
I  hope  if  I  have  not  both  sense  and  grace  to  train 
mine  so  that  they  shall  not  be  a  nuisance  to  every- 
body about  them,  that  God  will  in  mercy  take  them 
to  Heaven  in  infancy.     But  I  sincerely  trust  I  shall 


222  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1855,      be  able  to  do  better,  and  am  learning  some  useful 

A.p'G  26 

lessons  from  observation. 

The  Pilot.  "23d  November. — Father's  letter  came  to  hand  this 
morning  with  the  Pilot.  We  see  it  every  week,  and 
know  much  about  its  history,  present  mode  of  exist- 
ence, and  future  prospects.  Unfortunately  it  is  a 
party  affair,  and  that  only  of  a  very  small  party. 
The  editor  solicited  reports  from  William  for  it,  but 
l^ontro-°  3,s  the  first  prospectus  set  it  forth  as  a  controversialist, 
versy.  ^^  medium  of  attack  upon  the  Association  and  Re- 
formers, William  declined  contributing  to  it,  thinking 
that  the  title  Revival  Revived  was  merely  tacked  on  to 
it  to  better  secure  its  circulation.  I  think,  however, 
the  editor  has  materially  altered  his  first  intention, 
and  if  he  minds  what  he  is  about,  it  may  yet  succeed. 
"  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  might  be  made  a 
first-rate  paper,  but  the  paucity  of  news  of  our  own 
Connexion  is  at  present  an  evil.  I  am  sorry  the 
majority  of  the  Connexion,  both  lay  and  cleric,  are 
opposed  to  it,  and  chiefly  because  it  is  feared  it  will 
injure  the  funds  of  the  Book-room.  Our  objections 
are  on  no  such  grounds.  We  say,  never  mind  if  it 
does,  if  it  blesses  the  Connexion  spiritually,  and  puts 
some  steam  into  it ;  but  we  fear  its  controversial  ten- 
dencies. However,  we  shall  watch  its  course  in  this 
respect  and  act  accordingly.  I  will  consider  your 
suggestion  about  the  Juvenile,  but  it  requires  peculiar 
tact  to  write  for  cJiildren.     However,  I  may  try. 

Mr.  Poole       ]y[j.    Poole  has  been  very  successful    at    Sheffield. 

Sheffield.  He  wcut  at  a  good  time.  There  were  scores  wounded 
who  might  have  been  gathered  in  by  our  people,  if 
the  Committee  had  let  us  go  to  the  other  chapel. 
However  that  may  be,  it  is  a  good  thing  somebody 
has  caught  them.  Poole  is  a  sincere,  earnest,  good 
man,  and  we  rejoice  greatly  in  his  success. 


DEWSBURY.  223 

"My  dear  William  is  rather  better,  though  far  1855, 
from  well.  They  had  a  triumphant  day  on  Sunday, 
such  an  one  as  was  never  known  in  Dewsbury  before,  a  trium- 
The  people  flocked  to  the  chapel  in  crowds,  /lun-  Sunday, 
dreds  being  unable  to  get  in.  The  love-feast  in  the 
afternoon,  I  hear,  was  like  Heaven.  Many  took  their 
dinners  and  teas,  and  never  left  the  chapel  all  day. 
To-night  William  is  preaching  his  farewell  sermon- 
in  the  Wesley  an  Chapel,  lent  for  the  occasion,  a  spa- 
cious building  capable  of  seating  two  thousand  peo- 
ple, and  I  have  just  learnt  from  a  man  who  has  been 
to  fetch  him  some  cocoa  before  the  prayer-meeting, 
that  it  is  crowded.  I  hope  they  will  have  a  good 
night.  Last  night  they  took  between  thirty  and  forty 
names,  besides  children  under  sixteen.  To-morrow 
evening  William  addresses  the  office-bearers,  and  on 
Wednesday  night  the  young  converts.  On  Thursday 
afternoon  there  is  to  be  a  farewell  tea-meeting  to  be 
held  in  the  Wesleyan  schoolroom,  kindly  lent  because 
our  own  would  be  far  too  small.  We  expect  a  splen- 
did affair.  Most  of  the  trays  will  be  given.  They 
had  collections  yesterday  which  amounted  to  i^20, 
three  times  as  much  as  usual." 

Writing  the  following  day,  Mrs.  Booth  says: 

"They  did  not  leave  the  chapel  last  night  till  a 
quarter  past  eleven  o'clock.     They  had    a   splendid       sixty 

^  -"^  names 

prayer-meeting    and    took   sixty  names.     I    suppose     taken. 
there  were  2,500  people  at  the  service." 

The  following  resolution  was  passed  at  the  Dews- 
bury  Leaders'  Meeting,  in  regard  to  the  services,  the 
Rev.  L.  Saxton  being  in  the  chair: 

December  6th,  1855.  TT^g 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  its  gratitude      ^^sohiy 
to  the  great  Head  of  the   Church,  for  the  large  measure  of       tion. 


224 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1855, 
Age  26. 


A   shoiver 
of  tears. 


Gratitude 

for 
mercies. 


A  joyful 
exper- 
ience. 


success  which  has  been  realised  in  connexion  with  the  special 
services  recently  conducted  by  the  Rev.W.  Booth  in  this  place, 
and  earnestly  prays  not  only  that  Mr.  Booth  may  be  long 
spared  to  labour  in  this  blessed  and  glorious  work,  the  work  of 
saving  souls  from  death,  but  that  he  may  be  rendered  increas- 
ingly happy  and  successful.  The  meeting  begs  to  assure  Mr. 
Booth  that  enlisted  in  his  behalf  and  also  in  the  behalf  of 
Mrs.  Booth  are  its  warmest  sympathies  and  best  wishes. 

George  Ward,  Secretary. 

"The  tea-meeting  last  night  was  a  first-rate  one. 
I  do  wish  you  could  have  heard  William's  speech.  I 
ventured  there  enveloped  in  a  mountain  of  clothes, 
and  feel  no  worse  for  it,  except  it  be  zuorsc  to  feel  a 
little  prouder  of  my  husband,  which  I  certainly  do. 
We  took  leave  of  the  people  amid  a  perfect  shower 
of  tears  and  a  hurricane  of  sobs,  and  many  more  are 
coming  to  take  leave  of  us  to-day. 

"  As  to  my  own  feelings,  I  cannot  describe  them. 
My  heart  was  ready  to  burst  as  I  listened  to  the  sol- 
emn, earnest,  and  really  beautiful  address  given  by  my 
dearest  William.  I  felt  unutterable  things  as  I  looked 
at  the  past  and  tried  to  realise  the  present.  I  felt  as 
though  I  had  more  cause  to  renew  my  covenant  en- 
gagement with  God  than  any  of  His  children,  but  oh, 
I  realised  deeply,  inexpressibly  the  worthlessness  of 
the  offering  I  had  to  present  Him.  Alas,  I  had  so 
often  renewed,  but  so  seldom  paid  my  vows  unto  the 
Lord,  and  yet  He  has  so  richly  filled  my  cup  with 
blessings,  and  so  wonderfully  given  me  the  desire  of 
my  heart.  Oh,  for  grace  rightly  to  enjoy  and  improve 
my  many  mercies!     Pray  for  me. 

"  I  often  think  that  God  is  trying  me  by  prosperity, 
and  sunshine,  for  I  am,  so  far  as  outward  things  go, 
happier  than  I  ever  was  in  my  life.     Sometimes  my 
heart  seems  burdened  with  a  sense  of  my  unmerited 
mercies,    and   tears   of   gladness   stream    down    my 


DEWSBURY.  225 

cheeks.  I  tremble  lest  any  coldness  and  want  of  1855, 
spirituality  should  provoke  the  Lord  to  dash  the  cup  ^^  ^  * 
from  my  lips,  even  while  I  am  exulting  in  its  sweet- 
ness. O  my  darling  mother,  you  cannot  think  how 
my  soul  often  luxuriates  in  its  freedom  from  anxiety 
and  apprehension  about  the  future,  and  how  sweetly 
it  rests  in  tranquil  confidence  where  it  used  to  be  so 
tossed  and  distracted  by  many  elements  and  emotions. 
You  know  something  of  its  past  exercises,  but  you 
can  imperfectly  judge  of  its  present  satisfaction.  I 
tell  you  of  it,  however,  that  you  may  rejoice  with  me. 
"We  think  and  talk  much  about  you.  I  have 
mother's  likeness  on  our  bedroom  chimney-piece, 
and  it  gets  many  a  kiss,  and  many  a  wiping,  bless 
you!  I  long  to  see  you  both.  I  trust  we  shall  yet 
make  a  family  in  Christ  on  earth,  and  an  unbroken 
family  in  heaven." 
15 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

LEEDS.      1855-1856. 


The  Leeds 
revival. 


Christ- 
mas 
festivities. 


"  More 
honoured 
in  the 
breach 
than  the 
obser- 
vance.'" 


The  next  two  months,  December  and  January, 
were  spent  in  Leeds.  The  services  were  held  during 
the  first  few  weeks  at  Hunslet,  a  suburb  of  the  city, 
being  afterwards  transferred  to  Ebenezer  Chapel,  in 
another  and  more  central  district. 

Unusual  difficulties  were  encountered  at  the  outset. 
The  extension  of  the  term  alloted  for  the  Dewsbury 
meeting  caused  the  Hunslet  visit  to  be  broken  into 
when  at  its  very  height  by  the  Christmas  festivities. 
Strange  and  paradoxical  as  the  fact  may  appear,  it  is 
ungainsayable  that  in  Christian  countries  Christmas 
week  is  probably  the  worst  time  in  the  whole  year  for 
winning  souls.  At  the  very  moment  when  the 
world  is  supposed  to  be  rejoicing  over  the  birth  of  its 
Saviour,  it  is  so  engrossed  in  celebrating  the  historical 
event  that  it  has  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  con- 
sider the  object  for  which  He  came.  Instead  of  the 
occasion  being  used  as  an  opportunity  for  seeking  to 
please  Him,  in  the  one  way  which  would  of  all  others 
be  calculated  to  win  His  approbation,  the  season  is 
almost  entirely  dedicated  to  fooleries,  feastings,  and 
merry-makings.  A  few  perfunctory  services  are 
hurried  through,  it  is  true,  but  these  are  more  for  the 
sake  of  saving  appearances  than  for  anything  of  a 
serious  character,  and  the  thoughts  of  all  are  so  pre- 
occupied with  the  absorbing  trivialities  of  the  hour 
that    the    claims    of    Christ  upon    their    hearts,  their 

326 


LEEDS. 


227 


homes,  their  families,  their  talents,  their  time,  and 
their  possessions  are  unblushingly  disregarded. 
Verily  "  it  is  a  custom  more  honoured  in  the  breach 
than  the  observance." 

We  read  with  sorrowful  amazement  that  our  Lord 
was  laid  in  a  manger  ])ecause  there  was  "  no  room  for 
them  in  the  inn."  But  is  He  not  treated  with  even 
greater  disrespect  in  these  days,  and  that  by  His  pro- 
fessed followers?  Surely  it  is  a  crowning  master- 
piece of  Satanic  ingenuity  and  bravado  which  finds 
Him  ousted  as  it  were  from  the  celebration  of  His 
own  birthday,  while  a  season,  which  of  all  others 
should  be  regarded  as  sacred,  is  desecrated  by  a  very 
climax  of  gluttony,  revelry,  and  drunkenness! 

Probably  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  drink 
bill  of  Christendom  during  Christmas  week  is  at  least 
double  that  for  any  other  week  in  the  year !  How 
much  is  involved  in  this  single  fact !  And  m  the  face 
of  so  much  poverty  and  suffering,  is  not  the  food 
bill  equally  extravagant  and  scarcely  less  excusable? 
And  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  unbridled  buffoonery 
of  pantomimes  and  the  countless  other  follies  with 
which  Christmas  has  come  to  be  so  intimately  asso- 
ciated? Surely  we  speak  within  the  mark  when  we 
say  that  even  now  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  outside  the  range  of  a  few  humble  mangers, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  much  trace  of  the  Saviour 
among  the  hostelries  of  our  modern  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem. 

To  roll  back  this  torrent  of  worldliness  has  been 
one  of  the  grandest  portions  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth's 
mission.  They  have  appealed,  and  not  in  vain,  to 
the  conscience  of  multitudes  to  consecrate  their 
Christmas  holidays,  and  indeed  every  other  great  pub- 
lic festival,  to  the  service  of  God  in  seeking  the  sal- 


1855, 
Age  26. 


A  climax 

of  dese- 
cration. 


Extrava- 
gance. 


Buffoon- 
ery. 


Rolling 
back  the 
torrent. 


228 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1855, 
Age  26. 

The  true 
ideal  of 
religion. 


Eight 

hundi'ed 

penitents. 


vation  of  their  fellow-men.  They  entered  the  field 
boldly,  and  have  endeavoured  to  substitute  the  attrac- 
tions of  a  happy  religion  for  the  fleeting  enjoyments 
of  time.  They  have  taught  that  it  is  as  necessary  to 
be  religious  on  week-days  as  on  Sundays,  on  holidays 
as  on  work-days,  at  home  as  in  God's  house,  in  private 
as  in  public,  and  they  have  succeeded  in  raising  up  a 
people  who  count  it  not  only  a  duty  but  a  privilege 
to  surrender  their  own  pleasures  for  the  happiness  of 
others,  finding  in  God  an  enjoyment  and  satisfaction 
which  the  world  fails  to  afford.  Hence  one  of  our 
most  popular  refrains : 

"I  have  a  Saviour  Who's  mighty  to  keep, 
All  day  on  Sunday,  and  six  days  a  week ! 
I  have  a  Saviour  Who's  mighty  to  keep, 
Fifty-two  weeks  in  the  year !  " 

But  to  return  to  the  Leeds  campaign.  Despite  the 
interruptions  of  Christmas,  a  church  bazaar,  and  some 
anniversary  sermons,  the  services  were  marked  with 
the  usual  success.  More  than  eight  hundred  conver- 
sions were  recorded  during  the  time,  and  the  conclud- 
ing meetings  were  the  most  crowded  and  powerful  of 
the  series.  The  revival  is  referred  to  as  follows  by 
the  editor  of  the  Nezu  Connexion  Magazine: 


No  mere 
excite- 
ment. 


"  In  Hunslet  a  glorious  work  is  going  on.  Hundreds  of 
sinners  have  been  converted,  many  slumbering  professors  of 
religion  have  been  quickened,  and  not  a  few  backsliders  re- 
claimed. The  work  has  now  extended  to  Leeds,  where  re- 
sults of  a  similar  character  are  being  experienced.  Let  not 
anyone  attribute  these  marvellous  doings  to  mere  excitement. 
They  were  preceded  by  special  fasting,  humiliation,  and 
prayer,  and  if  God's  promise  be  true,  conversions  and  awak- 
enings may  be  expected  as  rationally  as  the  husbandman  ex- 
pects the  joys  of  harvest  to  follow  the  toils  of  ploughing  and 
sowing.  We  honour  the  ministers  and  friends  for  their  self- 
denying  efforts,  and  we  honour  the  devoted  evangelist,  Mr. 


LEEDS. 


229 


Booth,  whose  element  of  existence  is  the  conversion  of  souls 
and  the  spread  of  true  religion." 

In  the  next  monthly  review  the  following  editorial 
appears : 

"  What  a  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  the  God  of  all  grace 
that  His  work  amongst  us  continues  to  revive  and  extend. 
Long  have  we  mourned  our  barrenness  and  depression.  Now 
we  rejoice  because  the  fertilising  showers  of  heavenly  in- 
fluence are  descending  on  our  Zion,  causing  her  waste  places 
to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

"  In  our  last  number  we  reported  a  revival  at  Hunslet. 
Now  it  is  our  joy  to  tell  of  the  glorious  work  at  Leeds.  Old 
Ebenezer  Chapel  is  at  this  moment  distinguished  by  scenes 
far  more  interesting  than  even  those  of  her  earliest  history, 
when  within  her  walls  was  laid  that  platform  of  ecclesiastical 
government  which  for  sixty  years  has  combined  enlightened 
freedom  with  the  spiritual  privileges  of  Methodism. 

"  It  is  quite  compatible  with  our  gratitude  to  God  for  these 
remarkable  outpourings  of  His  Spirit  to  honour  the  brethren 
whose  anxieties,  tears  and  prayers  have  brought  about  this 
glorious  result.  One  of  the  greatest  blessings  which  could  be 
given  to  our  beloved  Connexion  would  be  the  general  diffu- 
sion of  the  revival  spirit.  We  think  highly  of  ministerial 
intellectuality,  but  far  more  highly  of  those  qualifications 
which  give  large  success  in  the  conversion  of  souls.  We  do 
not  undervalue  those  things  in  our  community  which  impress 
respectability  on  our  character  and  proceedings.  But  how 
poor  are  they  compared  with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  the 
tenderness  of  compassion  for  souls,  and  the  energy  of  an 
earnest  zeal  for  Divine  glory !  " 

We  might  quote  long  passages  from  the  eulogistic 
letters  sent  to  the  Magazine,  describing  the  meetings, 
but  we  prefer  to  draw  our  material  from  the  private 
letters  of  Mrs.  Booth,  containing  as  they  do  many 
personal  references  which  are  necessarily  wanting  in 
the  published  reports.  The  glimpses  behind  the 
scenes  are  of  more  than  ordinary  interest,  and  we 
have  the  advantage  of  an  autobiography  without  its 


1855, 
Age  26. 


A    tribute 
to  the 
work. 


Ebeyiezer 
Chapel. 


Mrs. 
BootWs 
letters. 


2  3d 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i8s5, 
Age  26. 


usual  drawbacks,  while  the  racy  narrative  reads   as 
freshly  as  if  it  had  been  penned  but  yesterday : 


Arrival 
at  Leeds. 


The  Com 

m it  tee 
and    the 
circuits. 


"Leeds,  December,  1855. 

"  We  left  Dewsbury  at  fifty  minutes  past  one  on 
Saturday,  and  after  less  than  an  hour's  ride  arrived 
here  in  safety  and  comfort.  The  Rev.  Maughan  met 
us  and  accompanied  us  in  a  cab  to  our  host's,  one  of 
the  most  comfortable  houses  I  have  been  in  since 
my  marriage.  Altogether  we  are  really  snug  and  at 
home.  Our  host  is  a  gentleman  of  independent 
means,  a  nice  jolly  old  man,  and  a  New  Connexionist 
to  the  backbone.  His  wife,  a  thorough  motherly, 
good-natured,  easy-going,  happy  old  lady.  No  bairns 
and  a  warm  house — a  great  matter  this  cold  weather. 
You  know  what  a  susceptible  being  I  am. 

"  I  suppose  we  shall  stay  in  Leeds  seven  or  eight 
weeks.  They  say  they  will  £-0  to  sec  the  Annual  Com- 
mittee, and  shoot  some  of  them  with  a  pop-gun  if 
they  won't  let  us  remain.  It  has  come  to  a  regular 
fight  between  the  circuits  and  the  Committee,  but 
William  has  given  up  the  controversy. 

"  I  am  much  better  in  my  chest,  though  still  trou- 
bled with  a  nasty  cough.  I  went  out  for  a  walk  this 
morning,  though  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow, 
and  we  have  a  sharp  frost.  I  attended  chapel  yester- 
day morning,  a  beautiful  place,  but  not  nearly  full. 
They  have  been  going  down  for  several  years,  and 
unfortunately  there  will  be  a  break  in  the  services 
for  Anniversary  sermons  next  Sunday.  The  society 
appears  to  be  very  respectable  and  intelligent.  I  was 
introduced  to  several  very  nice  ladies  yesterday.  I 
receive  marked  respect  and  attention  everywhere. 
Oh,  to  exert  a  right  influence,  and  that  only!  They 
Solid  fire,  got  somc  soHd  fire  amongst  them  yesterday  from  the 


The 
prospect 


LEEDS.  231 

pulpit,  as  effective  as  any  at  Sebastopol,  it  strikes  me.       1855, 
The  balls  seemed  to  lodge  in  many  hearts,  and    at       ^^  ^  * 
night  they  had  twenty  good  cases." 

"  December,  1855. 
"  William  took  the  pulpit  at  night.  We  had  a  full 
chapel  and  a  good  time.  Some  of  those  who  came 
forward  were  young  men  of  great  intelligence  and 
promise.  Over  an  hour  the  friends  rejoiced  with  ex- 
ceeding great  joy.  I  do  wish  you  could  join  us  here. 
On  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday  night,  William 
preached  at  a  small  place  about  five  miles  off,  where 
much  good  is  expected.  Yesterday  morning  between 
twenty  and  thirty  of  the  young  converts  came  from 
Dewsbury  to  spend  the  day  at  the  chapel.  They  had 
walked  a  distance  of  eight  miles  that  bitter  morning 
in  order  to  hear  their  spiritual  father  once  more. 
They  beset  us  like  a  swarm  of  bees  as  we  were  leav- 
ing the  chapel.  We  went  into  the  vestry  with  them, 
and  William  started  one  of  his  favourite  hymns,  and 
they  sang  like  larks.     It  was  a  cheering  and  affecting     Singing 

lili^B  let  7*1^^ 

sight.  I  wept  tears  of  gratitude  and  joy.  May  God 
keep  them  till  we  meet  them  in  a  sunnier  world,  and 
unite  to  sing  a  song  which  shall  never  end. 

"  It  will  be  a  dreadfully  hard  week  to  my  dear  hus- 
band. He  is  quite  prostrate  to-day  from  last  night's 
exertion.  I  never  heard  him  preach  more  effectively, 
but  his  poor  body  had  need  be  made  of  iron  to  keep 
it  up.  Bless  him !  It  will  be  a  happy  and  crowning 
Christmas  to  me,  I  am  sure.  I  often  weep  for  joy 
when  I  think  of  all  my  mercies,  and  call  to  mind  the 
loving-kindness  of  the  Lord. 

"  Oh,  I  do  wish  my  dear  father  could  hear  and  see  concern 
what  I  do  sometimes.  He  would  be  encouraged  to  father. 
return  to   Him  Whom  he  has  pierced,  but  Who  re- 


232 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1855, 
Age  26. 


ceiveth  sinners  still.  When  I  see  others  saved,  and 
hear  their  blessed  testimony  to  the  willingness  of 
God  to  receive  returning  prodigals,  even  in  old  age 
and  hoary  hairs,  I  often  think  of  him.  But  our  pray- 
ers shall  yet  be  answered.  Then  will  we  sing  'The 
dead's  alive,  the  lost  is  found.'  " 


A   hard 
struggle. 


Deliver- 
ing truth. 


Getting  it 
in. 


"HuNSLET,  December  24th,  1855. 

"  I  think  I  omitted  to  mention  the  particulars  of 
the  work.  Hitherto  it  has  been  a  hard  struggle.  My 
dearest  has  been  burdened  with  anxiety  and  very 
much  annoyed  with  the  character  of  the  arrangements, 
so  much  so  that  the  first  night  we  came  he  refused 
to  work  with  them  as  they  then  stood,  and  it  took  the 
preacher  and  Mr.  Crampton  till  midnight  to  persuade 
him.  The  thing  was  altogether  unfortunate,  but  it 
would  require  too  much  time  to  explain  it.  The  first 
week  the  work  was  equal  to  anything  we  have  had 
anywhere  at  the  commencement,  but  the  Anniver- 
sary interfered  with  the  influences.  The  sermons 
were  clever  and  pretty,  but  no  more  adapted  to  the 
people,  or  to  the  soul-saving  work,  than  those  which 
any  old  country  curate,  knowing  little  or  nothing  about 
conversion,  might  have  preached.  Oh,  when  will 
ministers  sufficiently  realise  their  responsibility  for 
pressing  the  truth  home  upon  the  consciences  of 
their  hearers!" 

Referring  to  this  subject  in  later  life,  Mrs.  Booth 
remarks : 

"One  great  qualification  for  successful  labour  is 
power  to  get  the  truth  home  to  the  heart. 

"  Not  to  deliver  it.  I  wish  the  word  had  never  been 
coined  in  connexion  with  Christian  work.  'Deliver' 
it,  indeed — that  is  not  in  the  Bible.  No,  no;  not  de- 
liver it ;  but  drive  it  home — send  it  in — make  it  felt. 


LEEDS. 


233 


That  is  your  work ;  not  merely  to  say  it — not  quietly 
and  genteelly  to  put  it  before  the  people.  Here  is  just 
the  difference  between  a  self-consuming  soul-bur- 
dened, Holy  Ghost,  successful  ministry,  and  a  careless, 
happy-go-lucky,  easy  sort  of  thing,  that  just  rolls  it 
out  like  a  lesson,  and  goes  home,  holding  itself  in  no 
way  responsible  for  the  consequences.  Here  is  all  the 
difference,  either  in  public  or  individual  labour.  God 
has  made  you  responsible,  not  for  delivering  the 
truth,  but  for  getting  it  in — getting  it  home, 
fixing  it  in  the  conscience  as  a  red-hot  iron,  as  a  bolt, 
straight  from  His  throne ;  and  He  has  placed  at  your 
disposal  the  power  to  do  it,  and  if  you  do  not  do  it, 
blood  will  be  on  your  skirts.  Oh,  this  genteel  way  of 
putting  the  truth !  How  God  hates  it !  'If  you  please, 
dear  friends,  will  you  listen?  If  you  please  will 
you  be  converted  ?  Will  you  come  to  Jesus  ?  Shall 
we  read  just  like  this,  that  and  the  other  ?'  No 
more  like  apostolic  preaching  than  darkness  is  like 
light." 

Writing  again  to  her  mother  from  Leeds,  Mrs. 
Booth  says : 

"The  result  of  the  Anniversary  has  been,  as  Wil- 
liam predicted,  the  congregations  diminished,  and 
the  week  has  been  one  of  toil  and  discouragement. 
The  friends  have  been  up  to  the  ears  in  preparations 
for  the  bazaar,  and  we  have  had  altogether  a  season  of 
anxiety  and  discouragement.  Nevertheless,  it  has 
not  been  an  unhappy  time,  by  any  means.  No,  thank 
God,  I  experience  nothing  of  real  unhappiness  now. 
Underneath  all  temporary  and  surface  trials  there  is 
a  deep  calm  flow  of  satisfaction  and  comfort,  which 
has  actually  altered  the  expression  of  my  counte- 
nance. 

"  I  was  at  chapel  three  times  yesterday.     The  work 


1855, 
Age  26. 


The  dif- 
ference. 


The  gen- 
teel 
system. 


The'  ivork 
inter- 
rujited. 


A  fresh 
start. 


2  34  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1856,  seems  to  have  taken  a  turn,  and  things  are  evidently 
rising.  Last  night  there  was  a  break.  A  gentleman 
of  great  importance  yielded  to  the  power  of  Divine 
truth,  and  decided  to  be  on  the  Lord's  side.  There 
were  twenty  other  cases,  but  this  one  gave  special 
satisfaction.  They  have  taken  at  present  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety  names,  and  nearly  all  for  our  own 
denomination.  The  friends  begin  to  manifest  a  strong 
affection,  as  usual,  and  if  William  would  visit  we 
should  be  out  every  day.  I  need  not  say  that  I  am 
very  glad  he  won't. 

"January  3d,  1856. 

Mrs.  "  I  am  glad  you  thought  about  us  on  the  Watch 

thTwcdch  Night.     The  weather  was  fine  here,  so  I  went  to  the 

Night  chapel.  I  cannot  tell  you  the  nature  of  my  feelings 
on  again  mingling  with  the  great  congregation  on 
such  an  occasion  and  under  such  new,  interesting, 
and  happy  circumstances.  It  was  truly  a  thrilling 
hour  to  my  soul,  and  I  trust  one  to  be  remembered 
in  eternity  with  gratitude  and  delight.  You  know 
what  an  enthusiastic,  excitable  nature  mine  is,  and 
can  easily  imagine  the  rush  of  emotion  I  should  ex- 
perience at  such  a  season,  while  meditating  on  the 
past,  rejoicing  in  the  present,  and  anticipating  the 
future. 

Riciiiy  "  It  must  have  been  a  time  of  blessing  to  all  pres- 
ent,  and  there  was  a  large  number.  My  precious 
husband  seemed  richly  imbued  with  the  Spirit's  influ- 
ence, and  graciously  assisted  to  speak  with  power  and 
effect  to  the  people.  I  often  wish  you  could  hear  him 
in  some  of  his  happiest  efforts.  I  think  you  would 
be  surprised.  I  never  cstcaned  him  so  highly  as  now. 
I  never  saw  so  much  to  admire  in  his  character.  And 
when   I  compare  him  with  the  ordinary  snailpaced 


LEEDS. 


235 


professors  I  continually  meet,  I  cannot  but  rejoice  in 
the  possession  of  one  with  whom  I  can  so  fully  sym- 
pathise, and  so  heartily  co-operate. 

"  The  work  here  is  rising  in  importance  and  power 
every  day,  and  after  a  great  deal  of  arguing  the  Com- 
mittee have  consented  to  our  remaining  another  week. 
The  friends  are  delighted  and  are  getting  fresh  mon- 
ster bills  out  announcing  the  services.  Some  of  the 
cases  here  are  of  the  most  important  and  promising 
character.  It  would  have  made  you  weep  tears  of 
joy  to  see  the  other  night  a  gentleman  of  intelligence 
and  influence  throw  his  arms  around  his  wife's  neck 
in  an  ecstasy  of  gladness  when  realising  the  Lord 
had  pardoned  his  sins.  The  people  of  God  might 
well  shout  hallelujah,  for  they  recognised  in  that  kiss 
the  pledge  of  their  union  in  Christ,  for  time  and 
eternity.  His  wife  had  long  been  praying  for  him. 
It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten  by  those  who 
witnessed  it.  Would  to  God  such  scenes  were  more 
frequent ! 

"There  is  another  fine  old  gentleman,  a  constant 
attendant,  whose  wife  has  been  a  member  several 
years,  who  is  under  deep  concern  and  in  whom  we  are 
all  interested.  He  is  a  man  of  considerable  wealth, 
lives  in  a  lovely  country  residence,  keeps  his  carriage, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Common  Council.  We  break- 
fasted there  on  New  Year's  day,  and  William  went  to 
see  him  this  morning  also,  in  order  to  get  an  oppor- 
tunity for  dealing  with  him  about  his  soul,  and  we 
think  he  is  sure  to  be  brought  in.  On  our  w^ay  home 
from  his  house  we  called  and  looked  over  his  mill, 
an  immense  place,  where  tons  of  paper  are  manu- 
factured every  month.  We  saw  the  entire  process, 
and  had  it  explained  to  us. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Another 
week. 


A  joyful 
scene. 


Another 
in.itance. 


236  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1856,  "January,  1856. 

"I  have  been  to  chapel  twice  to-day,  to  the  preach- 
A  high  iug  this  moming,  and  to  the  covenant  service  and 
"^'  sacrament  this  afternoon.  So  I  am  at  home  this  even- 
ing, three  times  a  day  being  too  much  for  me  just 
now.  It  has  been  a  high  day  at  the  chapel.  I  will 
enclose  one  of  the  small  bills  for  the  day,  from  which 
you  will  see  the  subjects.  The  chapel  this  morning 
was  well  filled,  such  a  congregation  as  the)^  seldom 
have.  My  beloved  was  very  poorly  and  not  at  all  fit 
to  preach,  but  a  gracious  influence  pervaded  the  con- 
gregation, and  at  the  covenant  service  this  afternoon 
the  body  of  the  place  was  quite  full,  the  new  converts 
being  admitted  by  special  tickets.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  delightful  services  I  ever  attended. 

A  hard  "  I  think  a  few  more  such  struggles  as  this  at  Huns- 
let  would  cause  William  to  completely  break  down. 
The  anxiety  has  been  fearful,  but,  bless  the  Lord, 
victory  is  coming  at  last,  and  sinners  are  being  saved 
by  scores.  I  am  informed  by  one  who  has  just  re- 
turned from  chapel,  that  it  has  heenpacked  (a  glorious 
triumph  for  t/iis  place),  and  that  the  people  have  to 
be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  gallery  to  the  prayer 
meeting.  This  is  a  good  omen  for  a  large  ingathering. 

"January  8th,  1856. 

The  Gen-        "  The  work  is  progressing    gloriously.     On    Sun- 

Zhment!^  day  night  the  sermon  was  one  of  extraordinary  power 

and  influence,  and  during  the  prayer  meeting  they 

Eighty-    took  fifty  uamcs.     Last  night  again  they  took  thirty- 

tim  names    ^  ^  ,i  /-      .         ,  -ttt-h- 

in  two     five,  some  of  them  first-rate  cases.     William  was  just 

"^*"      in  his  element.     But  his  body  is  not  equal  to  it,  I  am 

sure,  and  I  cannot  but  feel  anxious  on  this  point.     I 

am  often  congratulated  on  having  such  a  husband, 


LEEDS.  237 

and  sometimes  told  that  I  ought  to  be  the  happiest      1856, 
of  women.     And  I  am  happy.      Nevertheless  I  have       ^^ 
anxieties  peculiar  to  my  own  sphere.     I  see  the  im- 
certainty  of  health  and  life  and  all  things,  which  I 
trust  keeps  me  from  being  unduly  elated  by  present 
prosperity. 

"  We  are  invited  to  dinner  on  Friday  next  to  meet  He  unii 
the  preachers  at  the  gentleman's  I  mentioned  (the 
Coimcillor).  I  intend  going  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Crampton,  but  William  will  not  visit  under  any  pre- 
text. The  people  would  pull  him  to  pieces  to  visit 
them  if  he  would  go,  but  he  cannot  accept  one  invita- 
tion without  accepting  others,  and,  besides,  he  wants 
retirement.  Thus  one  of  my  hidden  fears  about  the 
future  is  dissipated,  viz.,  that  he  would  love  company, 
and  lose  his  relish  for  home  and  domestic  joys.  Bless 
him !  He  seems  to  want  no  company  but  mine,  when 
he  is  not  engaged  in  his  work. 

"January  i6th,  1856. 

"  The  finish  at  Hunslet  was  grand !  Five  hundred  Five  hun- 
names  were  taken  in  all.  The  gentleman  I  mentioned  <Jnf.f  T/' 
in  my  two  last  letters  (the  Councillor)  was  one  of  the 
last  sheaves  of  this  glorious  harvest;  he  gave  in  his 
name  on  the  last  night.  Another  gentleman  of  tal- 
ent and  influence,  a  backslider,  was  restored  on  the 
Thursday  night,  making  glad  the  heart  of  a  devoted 
wife,  who  had  been  praying  for  him  for  a  long,  long 
time. 

"  The  commencement  at  Ebenezer  Chapel  on  Sun-    Ebenezer 
day  was  most  encouraging.     The   influence   in   the     lS.' 
morning  was  very  precious ;  the  people  wept  and  re- 
sponded all  over.     The  muster  of  leaders  in  the  ves- 
try after  the  preaching  was  better  than  at  any  previous 
place,  and  many  of  them  were  evidently  very  superior 


2  38  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1856,  men.  We  were  quite  surprised  at  finding  such  a  staff 
of  workers.  At  night  the  chapel  was  packed,  and 
upwards  of  twenty  names  were  taken.  Amongst  those 
in  distress  was  a  gentleman  well  known  in  the  soci- 
ety, and  brother  to  two  of  the  principal  families  in  it, 
as  well  as  three  or  four  more  very  respectable  and 
intelligent  individuals.  The  two  last  evenings  the 
congregations  have  been  excellent,  and  about  forty 
names  have  been  taken. 
A  divided  "  There  is  a  prospect  of  an  unlimited  work  in  Leeds, 
ciurci.  -^vgj-g  not  the  building  so  small.  The  circuit  has  for 
some  years  been  in  a  divided  state  about  the  erection 
of  a  new  chapel,  for  which  a  splendid  piece  of  ground 
has  long  been  purchased,  but  alas!  the  broils  and 
dissensions  of  the  leading  men  have  hindered.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  this  revival  will  raise  the  spiritual 
tone  of  all  concerned  and  thus  help  to  overcome  the 
obstacles. 

"Leeds,  January,  1856. 
A  power-       "  The  work  here  is  one  of  the  best  we  have  yet 

^ul  TVOT'k 

witnessed.  Above  a  hundred  names  have  been  taken 
on  the  week,  and  some  of  them  very  important.  Yes- 
terday was  a  glorious  day.  At  the  love  feast  many 
were  unable  to  get  in,  and  at  night  (I  was  present) 
hundreds  went  away.  So  great  were  the  numbers 
outside  that  it  was  given  out  that  there  would  be 
preaching  in  the  schoolroom.  I  never  saw  human 
beings  more  closely  packed  than  the  poor  things  who 
stood  in  the  aisles.  My  heart  ached  for  them.  The 
chapel  was  crowded  above  and  below  till  near  ten 
o'clock.  I  think  everybody  was  delighted  with  the 
sermon,  I  mean  the  saints,  the  sinners  felt  something 
besides  admiration !  I  should  think  this  is  one  of  the 
most  intelligent  and   wealthy  societies  we  have  yet 


LEEDS.  239 

visited,  but  hitherto  it  has  been  crippled  and  cursed      1856, 
by  local  disputes  and  dissensions. 

"Leeds,  January  29th,  1856. 

"The  work  continues  here  with  more  tJian  usual  a  frarfni 
power.  On  Sunday  the  crush  was  fearful,  and  the 
confusion  on  the  stairs  and  outside  the  chapel  so  great 
that  the  gates  had  to  be  locked.  Serious  apprehen- 
sions were  entertained  of  some  accidents,  and  a  gen- 
tleman was  obliged  to  get  up  in  the  congregation  and 
insist  on  some  men  getting  down  from  a  position  they 
had  secured,  where  I  believe  there  was  nothing  but 
a  half-inch  board  to  sustain  them. 

"The  people  come  from  Hunslet  night  after  night      Night 

111  after 

With  as  much  eagerness  as  strangers,  though  they  night. 
have  been  hearing  him  now  almost  eig/it  zvecks. 
Some  of  them  almost  idolise  him,  so  great  is  their 
love  toward  him,  but,  bless  the  Lord,  amidst  it  all  he 
is  kept  humble,  and  often  suffers  from  despondency 
and  self-distrust.  I  only  attended  once  on  Sunday, 
in  the  morning,  and  returned  home  with  a  full  heart. 
William  was  so  poorly  and  yet  exerted  himself  so 
much  that  I  could  scarce  bear  it. 

"  I  often  think  I  am  better  away,  for  I  picture  all 
sorts  of  sad  scenes  in  the  future,  and  I  feel  as  though 
I  could  not  make  so  great  a  sacrifice,  no,  not  even  for 
souls!  And  yet  my  inmost  heart  cries  out,  'Thy  will 
be  done.'  However,  I  am  thankful  to  say  he  is  going 
to  rest  a  week  prior  to  going  to  Halifax.  It  will  be 
thirteen  weeks  on  Saturday  since  we  left  Chatsworth, 
and  he  has  had  no  rest  since,  so  I  have  taken  the  mat- 
ter into  my  own  hands,  and  for  no  power  on  earth  will 
I  consent  to  any  more  toil  until  he  has  recruited  a  bit. 
We  leave  here  (all  well)  next  Friday,  and  go  to  Huns- 
let to  spend  a  week  at  one  of  the  principal  friends." 


240  MRS.    BOOTH. 

1856,  "HuNSLET,  February  5th,  1856. 

"  Your  welcome  letter  is  to  hand,  and  though  I  have 
Electrify-  but  time  for  a  few  lines  I  will  send  you  one  lest  you 
people,     should  be  anxious.     The  finish  up  at  Leeds  was  glori- 
ously triumphant.     The  tea-meeting  at  Hunslet  sur- 
passed anything  we  have  yet  experienced.     I  would 
have  given  a  good  deal  for  you  to  have  been  present. 
My  precious  William  excelled  himself,  and  electrified 
the  people.     You  would   indeed  have  participated  in 
my  joy  and  pride  could  you  have  heard  and  seen  what 
I  did.     Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!" 
Here  Mr.  Booth  breaks  in : 
A  curtain       "  I  have  iust  come  into  the  room  where  my  dear 

lecture.  . 

little  wife  is  writing  this  precious  document,  and 
snatching  the  paper  have  read  the  above  eulogistic 
sentiments.  I  just  want  to  say  that  the  very  same 
night  she  gave  me  a  curtain  lecture  on  my  'block- 
headism,  stupidity,'  etc.,  and  lo,  she  writes  to  you 
after  this  fashion.  However,  she  is  a  precious,  in- 
creasingly precious  treasure  to  me,  despite  the  occa- 
sional dressing-down  that  I  come  in  for." 

Mrs.  Booth  resumes: 
Therepiy.  "We  havc  had  a  scuffle  over  the  above,  but  I  must 
let  it  go,  for  I  have  not  time  to  write  another,  having 
an  engagement  at  two  o'clock,  and  it  is  now  near  one. 
But  I  must  say  in  self-defence  that  it  was  not  about 
the  speech  or  anything  important,  that  the  said  cur- 
tain lecture  was  given,  but  only  on  a  point  which  in 
no  way  invalidates  my  eulogy. 

"  We  came  here  on  Saturday  where  we  are  treated 
in  the  most  kind  and  hospitable  manner,  and  where 
I  hope  William's  strength  will  get  nicely  recruited." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HALIFAX,  MACCLESFIELD  AND  YARMOUTH. 

1856. 

From  Leeds  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  removed  to  Hali-  The  Hali- 
fax, where  the  next  two  months  were  spent.  The  ^^i'yai' 
Rev.  J.  Stacey,  who  was  superintendent  of  the  cir- 
cuit, and  afterwards  President  of  the  Conference,  re- 
ports that  no  less  than  641  names  were  taken,  and 
that  of  these  nearly  400  became  members  of  his 
church.  Another  leading  minister  writing  at  the 
same  time  says: 

"  A  few  days  ago  I  called  at   Halifax  to  see  our  truly  de-       Three 

voted  friend  and  brother,  Mr.  Booth.     I  was  delisfhted  to  find   thousand 

penitents 
that  the  same  holy  power  was  attending  his  labours  there,    m  a  year. 

that  has  been  vouchsafed  in  other  places.  I  fear,  however, 
his  health  is  endangered  by  his  exhausting  labours.  Such  is 
his  ardour,  that  he  feels  he  cannot  do  enough  in  the  glorious 
work  of  saving  souls.  What  a  year  of  toil  and  glorious  suc- 
cess has  our  brother  passed  through ;  and  what  delightful 
showers  of  holy  grace  have  fallen  on  our  churches!  I  sup- 
pose nearly  3,000  persons  have  been  spiritually  awakened 
since  our  last  Conference,  besides  the  quickening  power  that 
God  has  diffused  through  the  souls  of  our  ministers,  office- 
bearers, and  members,  and  the  interest  excited  in  revival  work 
both  in  our  own  and  other  churches.  I  hope  the  ensuing 
Conference  will  continue  our  dear  brother  in  his  revival 
efforts,  but  it  will  be  needful  for  him  to  have  periods  of  entire 
rest,  or  he  will  work  himself  to  death." 

It  is  interesting  to    find    the    same    extraordinary     what  is 
energy  and  power  of  endurance  which  characterise     9'^""'*" 
General  Booth's  present  labours,  distinguishing  him 
16  241 


242 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


A  half 
truth. 


Subjugat- 
ing the 
human 
Niag- 
aras. 


A  suicid- 
al policy. 


in  these  early  days.  It  has  been  said  that  genius  con- 
sists in  a  capacity  for  hard  work.  This  is  indeed  a 
half-truth.  And  yet  to  be  a  successful  leader  of  men 
the  faculty  of  doing  more  than  others,  and  of  doing 
it  better,  must  be  combined  with  the  far  rarer  and 
more  difficult  art  of  setting  others  to  accomplish  ob- 
jects that  are  beyond  the  reach  of  any  individual 
power.  It  has  been  the  combination  of  these  qualities, 
that  has  been  the  secret  of  General  Booth's  subse- 
quent success. 

The  skill  that  can  subjugate  and  utilise  the  im- 
mense forces  of  mankind's  Niagaras,  will  necessarily 
outstrip  the  mental  and  moral  achievements  of  the 
mightiest  Samson  if  destitute  of  this  gift.  The  head 
cannot  dispense  with  the  body,  any  more  than  the 
body  can  dispense  with  the  head.  Each  is  mutually 
dependent  upon  the  other  for  its  very  existence.  The 
separation  of  either  is  suicidal  to  both.  The  genius 
that  divorces  itself  from  the  people  whom  it  was  meant 
to  bless  and  serve,  eclipses  its  own  brilliance  and 
paralyses  its  powers.  On  the  other  hand  the  society 
that  guillotines  those  whose  mental  and  moral  worth 
exceed  its  own,  limits  its  capacity  for  good  and  in- 
jures itself.  It  clips  the  wings  that  would  enable  it 
to  fly  aivay  from  the  evils  that  are  pressing  on  its 
steps,  onward  to  the  accomplishment  of  some  greater 
good.  Renouncing  the  privileges  proffered  to  it  by 
Providence,  it  runs  where  it  might  soar,  it  fails  to 
rise  because  it  fears  to  fall,  and  having  escaped  the 
dangers  of  the  sky,  it  becomes  the  miserable  victim  to 
its  short-sighted  jealousy  and  finds  in  the  mediocrities 
of  its  own  choice  perils  that  exceed  those  which  it 
seeks  to  avoid,  and  tyrants  whose  yoke  is  the  more 
galling  from  its  stupidity. 

The  dangers  of  despotism  are  doubtless  bad  enough 


HALIFAX  AND  MACCLESFIELD.  243 

and  need  to  be  guarded  against,  but  the  dangers  of     ^^^56, 
lack-leaderism   are   greater    still.     The    tyrannies  of       ^^ 
unsanctified  genius  have  involved  the  world  in  some    The  tyr- 

1  i  •  1,1  J 1  annii  of 

of  Its  worst  miseries,  but  we  question  whether  these      foUy. 
have  not  been  altogether  outnumbered  by  the  tyran- 
nies of  brainless  ignorance    and  its    foolhardy  esca- 
pades, or  equally  provoking  inaction. 

The  visit  to   Halifax   was   prolonged  by  an  event.    The  birth 

of  thciv 

the  birth  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth's  eldest  son  William  eldest  son. 
Bramwell,  the  present  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the  Salva- 
tion Army.     Writing  the  next  day  to  announce  the 
event  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mumford,  Mr.  Booth  says: 

"Sunday,  March  9th,  1856.      ''' 
"  Halifax. 
"My  Dear  Mother  and  Father: — It  is  with  feelings  of 
unutterable  gratitude  and  joy  that  I  have  to  inform  you  that 
at  half-past  eight  last  night  my  dearest  Kate  presented  us 
with  a  healthy  and  beautiful  son.     The  baby    is     a   plump, 
round-faced,    dark-complexioned,    black-pated    little    fellow, 
a  real  beauty.     The  Lord  has  indeed  been  very  good  to  us. 
Poor  Kate  has  had  a  dreadful  time,  but  the  Lord  in  mercy 
has  brought  her  safely  through.     Believe  me  as  ever, 
"  Your  very  affectionate  son, 

"William  Booth." 

A  few  days  later  we  find  Mrs.  Booth  herself  send- 
ing the  following  pencilled  note  to  her  "  precious 
mother:" 

"  By  a  little  subtlety  I  have  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of  a  Hmv  Mrs. 
bit  of  paper  and  a  pencil,  and  now  I  am  going  to  whisper  a  f^n^ 
few  words  into  your  ear.  Bless  you!  I  do  indeed  think  much 
about  you.  I  now  know  what  it  is  to  be  a  mother,  and  I  feel 
as  though  I  had  never  loved  you  half  as  well  as  I  ought  to  have 
done.  Forgive  all  my  shortcomings  and  be  assured  I  now 
appreciate  all  your  self-sacrifice  on  my  behalf.  My  soul  is 
full  of  gratitude  to  God  for  having  brought  me  through!  I 
am  doing  better  than  I  could  have  expected,  considering  how 


244  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1856,       very  ill  I  have  been.     My  precious  babe  is  a  beauty  and  very 
Age  27.     good.     Farewell,  till  I  can  get  hold  of  a  pencil  again.  ' 

The  In  a  later  letter  she  does  not  give  quite  so  favour- 

'''hah^i-     able  an  account  of  the  good  behaviour  of  the  future 
hood.      Qiiigf ^  and  one  is  agreeably  relieved  to  find  that  in 
his  early  days  he  was  capable  of  being  "restless"  and 
"  fretful,"  after  the  manner  of  ordinary  babes.    He 
became  a  special   object  of    interest  at   Mr.  Booth's 
next  halting-place,  Macclesfield,   where  he  was  pre- 
Presented   sented  by  twenty-four  young  women  working  in  a 
Bible,      factory  with  a  Bible  containing  the  following  inscrip- 
tion: 

"  Presented  to  William  Bramwell   Booth  by  a  few  of  his 
father's  friends. 

"May  this  blest  volume  ever  lie 
Close  to  thy  heart  and  near  thine  eye ; 
Till  life's  last  hour  thy  soul  engage, 
Be  this  thy  chosen  heritage. " 

The  The  presentation  took  place  at  a  farewell  tea-meet- 

fuifliied.  ing,  which  was  attended  by  nine  hundred  persons, 
and  the  friend  who  represented  the  factory  lasses  said 
that  the  gift  was  intended  "  as  a  slight  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  spiritual  benefit  they  had  received  from 
Mr.  Booth's  labours,  and  in  the  earnest  hope  that  his 
infant  son  might  be  spared  to  imitate  his  father's 
character  and  career."  The  prayer  has  been  more 
than  fulfilled,  and  we  discern  in  that  band  of  working 
girls  the  embryo  of  the  Hallelujah  Lasses,  who  were 
to  play  so  important  and  prominent  a  part  in  the  sub- 
sequent history  of  the  Salvation  Army,  and  who  were 
to  present  on  behalf  of  a  sinful  world  not  merely 
their  Bibles,  but  themselves,  as  living  epistles  known 
and  read  of  all  men. 

Mrs.  Booth's  recovery  was  not  so  rapid  and  satis- 


HALIFAX  AND  MACCLESFIELD. 


245 


factory  as  had  been  expected.  Owing  therefore  to 
her  continued  sufferings,  she  was  joined  by  her 
mother  at  Macclesfield.  Hence  there  are  but  few 
letters  existing  which  were  written  by  her  at  the 
time,  and  the  only  accounts  of  the  Halifax  and  Mac- 
clesfield meetings  are  those  contained  in  the  Nczv 
Connexion  Magazine.  From  these  it  is  evident  that  the 
work  was  as  powerful  and  sweeping  as  in  other 
places,  and  that  the  same  blessed  results  accompa- 
nied the  effort.  The  permanent  character  of  the  con- 
versions may  be  judged  from  the  impressive  service 
held  at  this  very  time  in  Sheffield,  when  180  new  pro- 
bationers were  received  into  the  church  as  the  first 
fruits  of  the  revival  there. 

Some  may,  however,  be  tempted  to  doubt  the 
genuineness  of  such  "  sudden  conversions."  Speak- 
ing on  this  subject  in  after  years,  and  expressing  her 
matured  convictions  in  regard  to  it,  Mrs.  Booth  re- 
marks : 


1856, 
Age  27. 

Joined  by 

her 

another. 


The  ivork 
perma- 
nent. 


Mrs. 
Booth  on 
sudden 
conver- 
sions. 


"  Given  the  same  temperament  and  calibre  of  being,  I 
would  rather  have  a  sudden  conversion  than  a  tardy  one.  Of 
course  for  purposes  of  comparison  you  could  not  fairly  place 
two  different  natures  in  juxtaposition.  It  would  not  be  right 
to  judge  a  plastic  and  emotional  mind  by  the  standard  of  a 
phlegmatic  temperament. 

"  When  men  are  seen  to  be  wrong,  it  must  be  very  desirable 
to  get  them  right.  And  what  is  conversion  but  a  process  by 
which  those  who  are  wrong  are  put  right?  As  for  the  method 
by  which  it  takes  place,  or  the  length  of  time  it  occupies,  I 
have  always  been  puzzled  to  understand  why  persons  who 
believe  in  conversion  at  all  should  object  either  to  the  em- 
ployment of  any  reasonable  means,  or  to  the  speed  with  which 
they  operate.  Here  is  a  man  who  has  developed  a  fixed  habit 
of  evil-doing,  of  falsehood,  impurity,  drunkenness,  or  some 
other  sin.  The  great  end  in  view  is  to  persuade  him  to 
abandon  his  evil  course,  and  surely  the  sooner  you  can  persuade 
him  to  do  so  the  better. 


Different 
tempera- 
ments. 


Why 
object  i 


246 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 

Not  so  in 

temporal 

things. 


The 

quicker 

the  better, 


The  spe- 
cial ivork 
of  the 
Spirit. 


No  hin- 
drance to 
its  j)er- 
manence. 


Surface 
work. 


The 
deviVs 
toad- 
stools. 


"  I  have  been  very  much  struck  with  the  different  manner 
in  which  people  argue  about  temporal  and  spiritual  things. 
In  regard  to  the  former,  supposing  a  friend  is  about  to  adopt 
some  mistaken  course,  you  ply  him  with  the  best  arguments 
you  can  command,  and  the  more  quickly  these  take  effect  the 
better  yoii  are  pleased.  You  praise  his  candour  and  say, 'This 
man  is  not  only  open  to  conviction,  but  acts  spontaneously 
upon  the  light  he  has  received. '  You  do  not  think  any  the 
worse  of  him,  because  of  the  readiness  with  which  he  has  ac- 
cepted the  truth.  Nor  do  you  for  a  moment  imagine  that  he 
must  go  through  a  long  preparatory  process,  before  he  can 
act  upon  his  convictions.  Why  then  in  the  religious  world 
should  the  exactly  similar  phenomenon  be  doubted,  simply 
on  account  of  its  suddenness?  Surely  it  should  be  even  less 
a  subject  of  surprise,  when  we  remember  that  the  special 
operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  to  convince  of  sin  and  to 
present  the  most  momentous  motives  and  sentiments  that  can 
be  laid  before  the  human  mind,  in  favour  of  its  abandonment. 

"  The  idea  is,  I  know,  that  owing  to  its  suddenness  the 
change  will  not  be  permanent.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  The 
permanence  of  a  conversion  is  not  determined  by  the  gradual 
process  which  produces  it,  or  by  the  speed  with  which  it  is 
accomplished,  but  by  its  reality,  by  the  intelligence  of  the 
subject,  by  the  surrounding  circumstances,  by  the  temptations 
the  convert  meets  with,  and  by  the  care  that  is  taken  to  nurse 
his  spiritual  life. 

"  No  doubt  there  was  and  is  a  great  deal  of  surface  work — 
easy-come-easy-go-ism — just  as  there  is  much  blossom  that 
never  comes  to  fruit  in  the  natural  world.  But  even  regrets 
in  regard  to  evil,  and  desire  for  improvement,  and  transitory 
resolutions  to  amend,  are  better  than  no  yearnings  after  good- 
ness and  God,  or  an  undisturbed  sleeping  in  evil.  Who  can 
tell  what  benefits  in  after  days  the  soul  may  reap  from  the 
memories  of  such  hours  of  Divine  influence  and  impression? 

"'There  go 's  mushrooms,'  a  minister  once  tauntingly 

remarked,  referring  to  some  new  converts,  and  mentioning 
the  name  of  the  Evangelist  through  whose  labours  they  had 
sotight  salvation.     'Well,'  replied  one  of  them,  who  happened 

to  overhear  the  observation,  'I  would  rather  be  one  of 's 

mushrooms  than  one  of  the  devil's  toadstools!' 

"  One  specially  singular  circumstance  is  that  the  very  people 
who  object  to  sudden  conversions  often  belong  to  societies, 


HALIFAX  AND  MACCLESFIELD. 


247 


Troops  of 
women. 


the  founders  of  which  believed  in  and  defended  the  doctrine,        1856, 
their  very  successes  being  based  upon    its  truth.     And  yet     ^S^  27. 
we  find  their  followers  and  professed  disciples  cavilling  and 
objecting!" 


Referring  to  the  Macclesfield  meetings  in  later 
years,  Mrs.  Booth  says : 

"  I  was  still  very  weak,  and  unable  therefore  to  at- 
tend many  services,  but  those  at  which  I  was  present 
were  very  blessed  times.  Perhaps  in  no  town  that  I 
had  yet  visited  was  there  so  intense  an  excitement, 
such  crowded  audiences  and  such  large  numbers  seek- 
ing mercy.  One  striking  feature  of  this  revival  con- 
sisted in  the  crowds  of  women  from  the  silk  factories, 
who  attended  the  meetings  and  came  forward  for 
salvation.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  watch  them  on 
their  way  to  the  chapel  with  their  shawls  over  their 
heads.  They  were  especially  kind  to  me  and  the 
baby.  Sometimes  they  would  come  in  troops  and 
sing  in  front  of  my  windows. 

"  Bramwell  was  baptised  during  our  stay  in  Mac- 
clesfield, his  father  performing  the  ceremony.  There 
were  about  thirty  babies  baptised  at  the  same  time. 
Not  wishing  the  ceremony  to  interfere  with  the  re- 
vival services,  we  had  them  all  postponed  to  one  day, 
making  it  the  occasion  for  a  special  demonstration, 
and  an  appeal  to  parents  to  consecrate  their  children 
to  the  service  of  God. 

"  I  had  from  the  first  infinite  yearnings  over  Bram- 
well. I  held  him  up  to  God  as  soon  as  I  had  strength 
to  do  so,  and  I  remember  specially  desiring  that  he 
shotild  be  an  advocate  of  holiness.  In  fact  we  named 
him  after  the  well-known  holiness  preacher,  with  the 
earnest  prayer  that  he  might  wield  the  sword  with 
equal  trenchancy  in  the  same  cause.  I  felt  from  the 
beginning  that  he  was  '  a  proper  child.'     At  an  early 


Bramwell 
baptised, 

and 
thirty 
other 
babies. 


An   advo- 
cate of 
holiness. 


A   proper 
child. 


248 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Conscien- 
tious, 


Truthful- 
ness. 


Early  ac- 
tivity 


Toil  re- 
warded. 


The 
C'h  ester 
confer- 
ence. 


age,  he  manifested  signs  of  intelligence  and  ability. 
He  resembled  me  especially  in  one  particular,  that  was 
in  taking  upon  himself  responsibility.  As  he  grew  up 
I  always  felt  that  he  was  a  sort  of  father  to  the  younger 
children. 

He  was  very  conscientious  too.  I  remember  once 
letting  him  go  to  a  friend's  house  to  tea  when  he 
was  only  three  years  old,  telling  him  that  he  must  not 
take  more  than  two  pieces  of  cake.  I  was  not  pres- 
ent, and  the  friends  tried  to  persuade  him  to  take 
more,  but  he  would  not  disobey  me.  This  character- 
istic grew  with  him  through  life.  I  could  always 
trust  his  word.  I  cannot  remember  his  ever  telling 
me  a  falsehood.  If  at  any  time  he  got  into  mischief 
he  always  came  to  me  and  confessed  it.  He  was  of 
a  very  active  and  restless  disposition.  I  do  not  think 
he  ever  sat  five  minutes  at  a  time  on  anybody's  knee. 
His  energy  as  a  child  was  something  marvellous." 

Those  who  have  attended  Mr.  Bramwell  Booth's 
holiness  meetings,  or  who  have  witnessed  his  patient 
and  laborious  toil  at  the  International  Headquarters, 
as  the  General's  right  hand  and  Chief  of  the  Staff  of 
the  entire  Salvation  Army,  will  testify  to  the  fact  that 
the  prayerful  toil  of  his  sainted  mother  has  indeed 
reaped  a  rich  reward. 

While  the  meetings  were  still  continuing  in  Mac- 
clesfield the  Annual  Conference  met  at  Chester. 
"  After  maturely  considering  the  case  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Booth,  whose  labours  have  been  so  abundantly  blessed 
of  God  in  the  conversion  of  souls,  it  was  again  re- 
solved that  he  continue  to  labour  in  the  capacity  of 
an  evangelist  for  the  next  year,  with  suitable  inter- 
vals of  rest.  May  our  brother  be  more  than  ever  suc- 
cessful in  the  great  and  glorious  work  in  which  he  is 
engaged." 


HALIFAX  AND  MACCLESFIELD.  249 

Mr.  Booth's    next     appointment    was    Yarmouth.      1856, 
Here  the  cause  was  very  low,  and  the  counter-attrac-       ^^  ^^" 
tions  of  the  seaside  caused  the  struggle  to  be  a  pecu-     4  /j^,.^; 
liarly  uphill  one.     And  yet  the  outcome  might  well    ^^^'^'JOi*'- 
have  satisfied  those  less  accustomed  to  witness  the 
remarkable     results     which     attended     Mr.    Booth's 
labours  during  the  past  two  years. 

In  writing  to  her  mother  Mrs.  Booth  says : 

"  Your  little  darling  is  well  and  growing  like  a  willow.  It  Grotving 
is  really  astonishing  how  he  comes  on.  We  have  bought  him  iviUow. 
a  doll,  which  pleases  him  vastly.  He  talks  and  laughs  to  it 
in  style !  He  gets  more  and  more  interesting.  The  people 
stop  to  admire  him  in  the  streets,  and  though  Yarmouth 
swarms  with  beautiful  babies,  he  does  not  suffer  by  compari- 
son with  any,  thanks  to  his  grandmamma's  nursing  and  care ! 
I  hope  you  are  taking  the  medicine  the  doctor  prescribed  for 
you.  I  believe  more  firmly  than  ever  in  homoeopathy.  Your 
unbelief  in  it  is  only  the  result  of  not  understanding  the 
principle  on  which  it  works.  But  never  mind  that.  If  you 
get  well,  it  matters  not  how. 

"  The  work  here  continues  to  be  very  harassing.  The  The  value 
Connexion  has  next  to  no  influence  in  the  town,  and  there  are  '^■^  ■'^ouis. 
also  other  difficulties.  Nevertheless  the  congregations  have 
steadily  improved  from  the  first,  and  already  forty  names 
have  been  taken,  some  of  whom  are  very  superior  cases.  Oh, 
the  value  of  souls !  They  are  worth  all  the  trouble  and  sacri- 
fice involved — yea,  a  thousand  times  over!" 

This  conviction  deepened  as  years  went  by.  "How  spiritual 
shall  you  feel,"  said  Mrs.  Booth  in  addressing  one  of  ^^^''^'■^*^- 
her  audiences  long  afterwards,  "  How  shall  you  feel 
when  you  gather  the  spiritual  family  which  God  has 
given  you  round  the  throne  of  your  Saviour,  and  say, 
'  Here  am  I  and  the  children  whom  Thou  hast  given 
me?  ' — the  children  won  through  conflict,  and  trial, 
and  strife,  such  as  only  God  knew;  'children  begotten 
in  bonds,'  as  Paul  says — in  chains — children  born  in 
the  midst  of  the  hurricane  of  spiritual  conflict,  travail, 


250 


MBS.   BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Cradled 
in  the 
storm. 


Encour- 
aged in 
the  Lord. 


and  suffering,  and  cradled,  rocked,  fed,  nurtured  and 
brought  up  at  infinite  cost  and  rack  of  brain,  and 
heart,  and  soul.  But  now;  here  we  are,  Lord.  We 
are  here  through  it  all.  'Here  am  I  and  the  children 
whom  Thou  hast  given  me.*  How  shall  you  feel? 
Shall  you  be  sorry  for  the  trouble  ?  Shall  you  regret 
the  sacrifice?  Shall  you  murmur  at  the  way  He  led 
you?  Shall  you  think  He  might  have  made  it  a  little 
easier,  as  you  are  sometimes  tempted  to  think  now? 
Oh!  no,  no! — the  children!  the  children!  You 
shall  have  spiritual  children!  Won't  that  be  reward 
enough  ? 

"  Oh !  sometimes,  when  I  am  passing  through  con- 
flict and  trial,  in  connection  with  a  work  which  brings 
plenty  of  it  behind  the  scenes,  I  encourage  myself 
in  the  Lord,  and  remember  those  who  have  gone 
home  sending  me  their  salutations  from  the  verge  of 
the  river,  telling  me  they  will  wait  and  look  out  for 
me,  and  be  the  first  to  hand  me  to  the  Saviour  when  I 
get  home.  Will  not  this  be  reward  enough?  Even 
so,  Lord.     Amen." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SHEFFIELD.      1856. 

From  Yarmouth  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded  to  North 
Sheffield.  The  New  Connexion  had  established  two  fls£d!^ 
circuits  in  this  city,  the  Northern  and  the  Southern. 
The  latter  had  already  been  visited  during  the  previ- 
ous year,  and  the  marvellous  results  accomplished 
had  made  the  Northern  Circuit  equally  anxious  to  re- 
ceive Mr.  Booth.  After  several  postponements  the 
Annual  Committee  had  at  length  decided  to  gratify 
their  request.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  were  welcomed  in 
the  warm-hearted  fashion  so  characteristic  of  the 
Sheffielders. 

Why  it  should  be  so,   is  difficult  to  explain,   but     Variety 

■'  of  mil. 

there  can  be  no  doubt  that  certain  towns,  districts, 
and  indeed  countries,  are  peculiar  for  their  receptivity 
of  Gospel  truth,  while  others  are  precisely  the  oppo- 
site. London,  it  will  be  acknowledged,  has  a  special 
reputation  for  being  a  hard  and  barren  soil.  Sheffield, 
on  the  contrary,  has  responded  with  remarkable  readi- 
ness to  the  call  of  the  revivalist.     Towards  the  end    4  recep- 

t'iVB  soil 

of  the  previous  century  it  was  the  scene  of  the  success- 
ful labours  of  the  great  holiness  advocate,  William 
Bramwell,  and  in  1844  it  was  greatly  stirred  by  a  visit 
from  Mr.  Caughey,  the  American  evangelist.  It  is 
possible  that  such  awakenings,  both  in  Sheffield  and 
elsewhere,  have  exercised  a  softening  influence,  long 
after  their  direct  results  have  disappeared.  The 
traditional    memories    of     such    stirring    times   are 

251 


252 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Afa- 

vourable 

public 

opinion. 


National 
and  tribal 
peculiar- 
ities. 


Head  ver- 
mis heart. 


doubtless  handed  down  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, accustoming  the  popular  mind  to  the  existence 
of  these  phenomena,  and  preparing  the  way  for  their 
repetition.  In  these  favoured  localities  a  public 
opinion  already  exists,  instead  of  having  to  be  created. 
The  ordinary  prejudices  and  misunderstandings 
which  hinder  revival  work  have  been  dissipated.  The 
ground  has  to  some  extent  been  cleared  of  its  forest 
"lumber"  and  is  therefore  more  prepared  to  yield  its 
bosom  to  conviction's  plough.  There  is  scarcely  time 
to  scatter  the  seed  in  the  virgin  soil,  before  it  com- 
mences to  spring  up  and  bear  fruit,  some  thirty,  some 
sixty,  some  a  hundred-fold. 

No  doubt  other  causes  contribute  to  this  result. 
There  are  national,  tribal,  and  local  peculiarities  of 
disposition  which  are  just  as  distinct  as  those  of  in- 
dividuals. We  talk  familiarly  of  English  John  Bull- 
ism,  Yankee  smartness,  French  polish,  German 
philosophy,  Scotch  sense,  Irish  eloquence,  and  other 
similar  characteristics.  Similarly  we  might  speak  of 
counties  or  towns,  were  we  sufficiently  familiar  with 
their  idiosyncrasies.  Who  has  not  experienced  the 
difference  that  a  few  miles  of  railroad  can  create  in 
the  moral  and  social  atmosphere  of  all  around? 

To  speak  generally,  some  are  all  head  and  others 
are  all  heart,  while  more  rarely  we  come  across  a 
happy  combination  of  both.  The  tendency  of  modern 
civilisation  is  to  cultivate  the  head  at  the  expense  of 
the  heart,  forgetting  that  knowledge  is  but  a  poor  sub- 
stitute for  affection,  either  from  an  individual  or  na- 
tional point  of  view.  Hence  some  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens and  most  influential  centres  of  braindom  suffer 
from  atrophy  of  the  heart.  What  is  wanted  is  a 
simultaneous  cultivation  of  both. 

But  before  there  can  be  cultivation,  there  must  be 


SHEFFIELD.  253 

recognition.     Who    can  calculate    the  mischief    that      1856, 
arises  from  the  almost  total   eclipse  of  this  luminary       ^^ 
from  our  modern  sky  ?     Society,  in  our  days,  with  all       Tixe 
its  education  and  scientific  paraphernalia,  is  tending  the^heart. 
fast  in  the  direction  of  a  society  without  a  heart,  and 
might  fitly  be  compared  to  a  firmament  without  a  sun, 
or  a  body  without  a  soul.     It  tries  ±0  bask  in  political 
and  social   rays  of  its  own   creation,  and  to  thaw  its 
frigidity  and  illumine  its  darkness  with  lesser  lights, 
more  perhaps  after  its  own  taste.     But  its  great  need 
— the  crowning  need  of  the  nineteenth  century— is  a      Heart 
restoral  of  heart-pulsation  to  the  nation,  the  family  ^"*"*^'*- 
and  the  individual. 

How  sickening  is  the  spectacle  of  a  man  without  a  a  sicken- 
heart!     What  a  danger  is  he  to  the  community  at  spectacle. 
large !     The  more  brain    power  and   knowledge    he 
possesses,  the  greater  becomes  his  capacity  for  evil! 
You  cannot  appeal  to  his  heart,  for  he  has  none — 
to  his  emotions,  for  they  have  been  stifled  long  ago 
— to  his  moral  sentiments,  for  he  has  thrown  religion 
on  one  side  as  fit  only  for  women  and  fools!     He  is  a  menace 
capable   of   any   crime  —  that  he   can    practise    with  '°  *^'"^''  ^' 
safety  to  himself.      He  will  not  commit  a  murder,  it 
is  true,  but  he   will  convulse  nations  in  blood,  or  he 
will  establish  a  "corner"   that  takes  the  bread  from 
the  mouth  and  the  clothes  from  the  back  of  the  starv- 
ing poor.     He  is  a  standing  menace  to  society. 

And  yet  he  is  the  intellectual  hero  of  the  day,  the   The  intei- 
model   after   which    childhood    is  fashioned,  till  the     hero  of 
family,  school,  community,  and  nation  is  converted  in-       ^   "^' 
to  a  patent  heart-crushing,  head-developing  machine, 
which  manufactures  humanity  into  a  hideous  carica-  a  hideous 
ture  of  what  it  ought  to  be.     Such  is  the  tendency  of       ture. 
the  age.     We  ridicule  the  Chinese  taste  which  cramps 
the  feet  of  its  womanhood  into  narrow  and  unnatural 


254 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Upsetting 
God's 
order. 


Her  quar- 
rel ivith 
modern 
educa- 
tion. 


A    hearty 
reception. 


The  Shef 

field 
Revival. 


moulds,  and  yet  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  dominated 
by  a  craze  that  cramps  our  very  vital  powers  and 
destroys  the  tenderest  and  most  beautiful  side  of  our 
nature. 

Upon  this  very  subject  Mrs.  Booth  remarks: 

"All  the  mischief  comes  from  upsetting  God's 
order — cultivating  the  intellect  at  the  expense  of  the 
heart;  being  at  more  pains  to  make  our  youth  cUi'cr 
than  to  make  them  good  !  For  what  is  the  highest 
destiny  of  man  ?  I  say  that  the  highest  type  of  a  man 
is  that  in  which  the  purified  and  ennobled  soi//  rules 
through  an  enlightened  intelligence,  making  every 
faculty  of  the  being  subservient  to  the  highest  pur- 
pose— the  service  of  humanity  and  the  service  of 
God !  And  all  education  that  falls  short  of  this  seems 
to  me  one-sided,  unphilosophical,  and  irreligious. 
And  t/iat  is  my  quarrel  ivitJi  modern  edueation.'" 

While  Sheffield  certainly  was  not  lacking  in  intel- 
lectual force,  its  people  were  distinguished  by  a  large- 
heartedness  and  a  warmth  of  affection,  which  made 
the  task  of  ministering  to  their  spiritual  wants  the 
more  agreeable.  They  welcomed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth 
with  open  arms.  Many  of  the  converts  of  the  previ- 
ous year  flocked  round  them,  helping  to  inspire  them 
for  the  fresh  efforts  which  they  were  about  to  put 
forth.  The  results  of  the  next  six  weeks'  campaign 
were  glorious.  The  chapel  was  crowded,  hundreds 
being  frequently  turned  away  for  want  of  room,  and 
six  hundred  and  forty-six  names  were  taken. 

Describing  the  meetings  to  her  mother  Mrs.  Booth 
writes : 

"  My  precious  husband  is  tugging  at  it,  full  of  anx- 
iety and  greatly  exercised  as  to  the  success  of  the 
effort.  Many  things  have  transpired  to  discourage 
him.     Nevertheless  God  honours  him  in  the  conver- 


SHEFFIELD.  255 

sion  of  souls  day  by  day.  The  work  is  rising  glori-  1856, 
ously,  chapel  full  every  night  and  packed  on  Sundays.  ^^  ^'' 
It  is  worth  making  sacrifices  to  minister  bliss  and 
salvation  in  Jesus'  name.  We  are  trying  to  lose 
sight  of  man  and  second  causes  and  to  do  what  we  do 
more  exclusively  unto  the  Lord.  I  realise  this  to  be 
the  only  way  to  find  satisfaction  and  peace  in  the 
prosecution  of  our  mission.  But  I  am  not  nearly  such 
an  apt  scholar  at  it  as  my  beloved.  He  can  bear  non- 
appreciation  and  opposition  much  easier  than  I  can. 
Perhaps  I  could  endure  it  better,  if  it  did  not  concern 
him.     But  I  am  trying  to  rise.     May  the  Lord  help  me. 

"  It  is  a  cause  of  great  rejoicing  to  us  to  find  such    qu  con- 
numbers    who    turned  to  the    Lord  when  we  were  in  steadfast. 
Sheffield  before,    standing    fast    and   adorning    their 
profession,  some    of    them    giving   promise  of  great 
usefulness.     All  glory  to  God. 

"  Monday  afternoon. — They  had  a  glorious  time  at 
the  chapel  last  night,  forty-nine  cases,  many  of  them 
men,  and  stout-hearted  sinners. 

"  15  th  vSeptember. 
"William    is    working   hard    and    with    wonderful     Agior- 
results.     The    chapel  was  crowded   out   all  day   on      work 
Sunday,  and  sixty-three  cases  at  night,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them   men.     The  work  up  to  the  present 
surpasses  that  of  last  year.     Notwithstanding  all  this 
he  is  very  much  harassed  in  mind  regarding  his  future 
course.     Reports  are  continually  reaching  us  of  the 
heartless  manner  in  which  the  preachers  let  the  work  i^i  down. 
down  after  we  are  gone,  so  that  so  far  as  our  com- 
munity is  concerned,  it  is  almost  like  spending  his 
strength  for  naught.     The    cold,   apathetic,   money- 
grubbing  spirit  of  some  preachers  and  leading  men 
is  a  constant  thorn  in  his  side.     Oh  for  a  church  of 


2  56  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1856,      earnest,  consistent,  soul-saving  men!     But  alas!  alas! 

^^  such  is  indeed  difficult  to  find." 
whxj  the  This  letter  contains  the  earliest  reference  to  what 
startedT  was  ultimately  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  crea- 
tion of  the  Salvation  Army.  The  question  has  often 
been  asked,  why  it  does  not  confine  itself  to  evange- 
listic effort  in  connection  with  the  churches,  handing 
over  its  converts  to  be  cared  for  by  the  ordinary  pas- 
toral agencies?  It  is  everywhere  acknowledged  that 
the  Salvation  Army  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  task 
of  awakening  and  converting  sinners,  but  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  churches  are  better  qualified  for  build- 
ing them  up.  Is  it,  however,  reasonable  to  conclude, 
that  those  who  fail  in  the  former  will  succeed  in  the 
latter?  The  church  that  cannot  make  its  own  con- 
verts can  hardly  be  expected  to  successfully  train  the 
converts  made  by  others. 

The  The  fact  that  it  cannot  convert,  if  such  be  the  case, 

Tiiothcv 

the  natu-  is  surcly  proof  presumptive  that  it  is  incapable  of 
'^dian?^  affording  them  that  spiritual  nourishment  which  is 
so  necessary.  Besides,  who  more  suitable  to  be  the 
guardians  of  the  new  life,  than  those  who  have 
been  the  means  of  bringing  it  into  existence?  The 
parent  movement  is  bound  to  its  offspring  by  special 
ties  of  affection.  It  possesses  an  authority  peculiarly 
its  own,  and  which  is  perhaps  incapable  of  being  del- 
egated to  another.  Is  it,  then,  too  much  to  say,  that 
the  mother  organisation  must,  if  able,  suckle  her  own 
converts  ? 
Looking        It    was   bccausc    the    New    Connexion    and    other 

after  the 

converts,  churchcs,  to  whom  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  for  some  years 
to  come  entrusted  the  care  of  their  converts,  fell  so 
far  short  of  their  ideal  in  this  respect,  that  they  were 
ultimately  led  to  consider  whether  they  could  not  im- 
prove  upon    the  existing  methods  in   regard  to  the 


SHEFFIELD. 


257 


training  as  well  as  the  gaining-  of  converts.  But  it 
was  not  till  a  subsequent  period  that  the  possibility 
or  advisability  of  such  a  course  dawned  upon  them. 

Meanwhile  the  work  in  Sheffield  went  forward 
gloriously.  Towards  the  end  of  the  visit,  Mrs.  Booth 
writes  to  her  mother : 

"  I  wish  you  could  be  present  in  some  of  William's 
best  times.  The  other  night  the  people  could  scarce 
refrain  from  clapping. 

"  I  accompanied  him  to  chapel  this  morning,  a 
splendid  congregation,  a  melting  sermon,  and  a  glori- 
ous influence.  The  people  wept  all  over  the  place. 
There  were  shouts  of  'Glory!  ',  'Hallelujah!'  from  all 
directions.  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  have  a  grand 
night,  though  the  weather  is  very  unfavourable. 

"  It  will  be  a  trying  day  for  William.  He  preached 
hard  this  morning,  and  for  an  hour  this  afternoon 
never  ceased  talking,  and  I  don't  expect  him  home 
before  ten  or  half-past.  It  astonishes  everybody  how 
he  holds  out.  It  is  without  doubt  a  glorious  work. 
Let  this  comfort  us  in  the  sacrifices  we  are  called  upon 
to  make.  Yes  %vc,  for  you  share  in  them.  It  would 
indeed  be  nice  to  live  nearer  together,  to  enjoy  more  of 
each  other's  company.  I  wish  it  could  be,  but  as  it 
cannot,  there  is  something  consoling  in  being  able  to 
say 'Lord,  I  do  this  for  Thee.'  Always  remember 
this,  my  dear  mother,  when  tempted  to  think  it  hard. 
Remember  it  is  to  help  spread  the  Redeemer's  King- 
dom that  you  have  lent  me  to  this  wandering  life. 
And  perhaps  if  we  do  it  cheerfully,  the  Lord  will  yet 
cast  our  lot  together  in  sunny  places. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


r/ie  Shef- 
field re- 
vival. 


Lttbors 
ahuTh- 
dant. 


Sharing 

the 
sacrifice. 


"October  loth. 
"  Our    farewell    tea-meeting   went   off   gloriously. 
Upwards  of  twelve   hundred   sat   down   for  tea,  and 
17 


The  fare- 
ivell  tea. 


2  58  MJ?S.  BOOTH. 

1856,  scores  were  sent  away  with  money  in  their  hands,  be- 
^^  ^^*  cause  they  had  not  tickets  and  the  friends  were  afraid 
there  would  not  be  room  for  them.  It  is  calculated 
that  there  were  more  than  two  thousand  people  in  the 
hall  after  tea.  I  sat  on  the  platform,  next  to  the  star 
of  the  assembly,  a  prominent  and  proud  position,  I 
assure  you.  It  was  a  splendid  sight,  such  a  dense 
mass  of  heads  and  happy  faces !  I  would  have  given 
a  sovereign  willingly  for  you  to  have  been  there.  I 
have  been  in  many  good  and  exciting  meetings,  but 
never  in  such  an  one  as  that.     I  never  saw  an  assem- 

The  au- 
dience en-  biy^  so  completely  enthralled  and  enchanted  as  this 

thralled.  j  r  j  .  -^  , 

one  was  while  my  beloved  was  speaking.  He  spoke 
for  near  two  hours,  never  for  one  moment  losing  the 
most  perfect  control  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
audience.  I  never  saw  a  mass  of  people  so  swayed 
and  carried  at  the  will  of  the  speaker  but  once  or 
twice  in  my  life.  The  cheers  were  deafening,  and 
were  prolonged  for  several  minutes.  I  cannot  give  you 
any  just  idea  of  the  scene.  I  will  send  you  a  paper 
^         containing  an  account  of  the  meeting.     It  was  a  trium- 

triumph.  p^^^t  finish,  and  has  given  me  considerable  comfort 
and  encouragement,  amidst  many  things  of  a  trying 
and  discouraging  nature,  I  mean  of  a  connexional 
character.  If  the  Lord  continues  my  dear  husband's 
life  and  health,  I  have  no  fear  for  him  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. He  need  not  brook  any  swaddling- 
bands,  and  if  I  mistake  not  certain  parties  begin  to 
see  the  policy  of  giving  him  plenty  of  room." 

A  Jealous       ^u  incident  occurred  at  the  close  of  the  Sheffield 

clique. 

visit,  which,  while  it  proved  the  affectionate  esteem 
in  which  Mr.  Booth  was  held  by  the  people,  served  to 
accentuate  the  jealousy  with  which  a  certain  section 
of  the  preachers  had  begun  to  regard  his  increasing 
popularity.       Anxious    to   give    expression   to   their 


SHEFFIELD.  '         259 

gratitude  and  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  visit,    ^i8|6,^ 
the  Sheffield  friends  had  decided  on  presenting  Mr.       ^ 
Booth  with  a  large  lithographic  portrait  of  himself.   Presenia- 

°  o      i  t.  on  of  a 

The  proposal  was  in  accordance  with  the  common  portrait. 
custom  of  the  Connexion,  the  presentation  meeting 
being  presided  over  by  the  President  himself,  the 
Rev.  H.  Watts,  and  a  report  being  duly  published  in 
the  Magazine.  We  turn,  however,  for  an  account  of 
the  meeting  to  Mrs.  Booth's  letters: 

"October  27th. 
"  I  know  vou  will  be  anxious  to  hear  all  about  the  a  perfect 

■^  1     •    r         J  triumph. 

presentation  meeting,  so  I  seize  a  very  brief  and  un- 
certain opportunity  to  send  you  a  few  lines.  I  was 
not  well  enough  to  go  to  the  tea,  but  drove  to  the 
meeting  just  in  time  to  hear  the  speaking.  The 
meeting  was  a  perfect  triumph.  There  were  as  many 
present  as  on  the  last  occasion.  The  speaking  was 
very  good,  and  the  portrait  best  of  all.  I  like  it 
much,  although  I  do  not  think  it  flatters  my  beloved 
in  the  least.  Indeed  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
transfer  to  paper  that  which  constitutes  his  particu- 
lar charm  when  speaking.  It  lives  and  dies  with  the 
occasion, 

"The   portrait   gives   universal   satisfaction.     The   what  the 

•      Pvcsiclciit 

meeting  was  in  a  perfect  tumult  of  applause  when  it  thought. 
was  exhibited.  John  Unwin  said,  'Well,  they  have 
caught  a  live  man  and  stuck  him  on  paper !  '  But  I  do 
not  think  so.  I  still  prefer  the  original!  The  Rev. 
J.  Paton  (the  well-known  Congregational  minister) 
spoke  like  a  friend  and  brother.  He  said  he  had  made 
a  great  effort  to  be  present,  but  he  was  determined  to 
testify  his  friendship  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth.  It 
was  a  noble  and  generous  recognition  of  the  good  ac- 
complished in   the  town  by  the  services.     The  Presi- 


26o 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


The 
inscrip- 
tion. 


The  Mag- 
azine re- 
ports the 
meeting. 


Why  testi- 
monials 
were 
after- 
wards 
sup- 
pressed. 


dent  came  out  first-rate,  and  set  his  official  seal  in 
full  upon  the  whole  affair.  There  was  no  milk  and 
water  about  him." 

The  copy  of  the  portrait  presented  to  Mr.  Booth 
bore  the  following  inscription : 

"Presented  to  the  Rev'd  William  Booth,  whilst  labouring 
as  an  Evangelist  in  the  Methodist  New  Connexion  by  his 
friends  in  Sheffield,  in  affectionate  appreciation  of  his  arduous, 
zealous,  and  successful  labours  there  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
community.  Presented  Nov.  26th,  1856,  at  a  large  meeting 
assembled  in  the  Temperance  Hall,  the  Rev'd  H.  Watt,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Conference,  in  the  chair." 

The  Magazine  contains  the  following  reference  to 
the  meeting: 

"  Mr.  Booth,  who  was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause, 
replied  in  his  usual  fervent  and  effective  manner.  He  said: 
'I  rise  to  respond  to  the  expression  of  your  esteem  and  affec- 
tion with  feelings  almost  overpowering.  Such  periods  as  the 
present  are  to  some  the  proudest  moments  of  their  history, 
and  I  know  not  that  the  man  does  wrong  who  highly  estimates 
and  boldly  rejoices  in  the  acknowledged  esteem  of  his  fellows, 
especially  if  they  be  among  the  wise  and  the  good.  And  yet 
I  confess  to  you,  that  although  I  highly  prize  and  shall  ever 
hold  in  grateful  remembrance  the  kindly  estimate  my  Shef- 
field friends  have  put  upon  my  services,  and  of  which  this 
presentation  will  be  a  lasting  memorial,  nevertheless  I  never 
more  fully  felt  the  many  imperfections  that  have  marked  my 
efforts  than  I  do  to-night,  and  the  unworthiness  of  that  short 
career  which  has  called  forth  this  spontaneous,  enthusiastic, 
and  generous  acknowledgment.  I  feel  that  in  this  respect 
"  the  labourer"  is  not  "  worthy  of  his  hire."  '  After  speaking  at 
some  length  on  the  importance  of  aggressive  efforts  on  the 
part  of  the  church,  Mr.  Booth  sat  down  amidst  protracted  ap- 
plause." 

And  yet,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  the  most  interest- 
ing aspect  of  this  presentation  was  that  it  afterwards 
led  to  the  entire  suppression  of  the  system  of  testi- 
monials in  the  organisation  of  the   Salvation   Army. 


SHEFFIELD,  261 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  were  always  sensitive  to  a  fault  1856, 
lest  any  personal  gratification  should  prove  an  unin-  se  27. 
tentional  stumbling-block  to  the  work  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  They  were  themselves  quite  taken  by 
surprise  at  the  ministerial  ill-feeling  aroused  by  the 
presentation  of  the  portrait.  Had  they  dreamed  that 
such  would  have  been  the  result,  they  would  have 
certainly  put  their  foot  on  the  proposal  as  soon  as  it 
was  made.  They  were  sorry  afterwards  that  they 
had  not  done  so,  although  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  this  would  have  prevented  the  determination  of 
an  increasing  party  in  the  Conference  to  place  the  ex- 
tinguisher upon  Mr. Booth's  growing  popularity  by 
relegating  him  to  a  circuit  where  his  efforts  would 
be  limited  to  the  ordinary  pastoral  routine. 

But  there  w^ere  other  evils  connected  with  the  sys-  other 
tem  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  afterwards  more  fully  ^the'syL 
realised.  The  public  presentation  of  personal  testi-  '^'"' 
monials  was  calculated,  they  found,  to  do  more  harm 
than  good.  In  the  first  place  it  was  difficult  to  decide 
of  what  they  might  properly  consist.  Equally  diffi- 
cult would  it  be  to  settle  who  should  be  the  recipients, 
without  giving  rise  to  endless  heartburnings  and  dis- 
satisfaction, which  would  go  far  to  neutralise  any 
good  that  might  have  been  accomplished.  The  ordi- 
nary nature  of  such  gatherings,  with  their  flattering 
speeches  in  regard  to  what,  after  all,  had  been  but  the 
performance  (often  too  imperfect)  of  a  sacred  duty, 
was  likely  to  do  harm.  There  was  also  the  danger 
that  officers  would  be  tempted  to  aim  rather  at  pleas- 
ing the  people  than  doing  them  good.  For  these  and 
similar  reasons  such  presentations  have  been  forbid- 
den, and  the  Salvation  Army  officer  has  learned  to 
glory  in  what  might  at  first  sight  appear  to  be  an  irk- 
some and  unnecessary  restriction. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BIRMINGHAM,    NOTTINGHAM,    CHESTER. 
1856-1857. 


Birming- 
ham. 


A   low 
cause. 


Open-air 
work. 


A  power- 
ful aivak- 
ening. 


The   final 
Sunday. 


From  Sheffield  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded  for 
a  six  weeks'  campaign  to  Birmingham,  the  results  of 
which  are  summ.ed  up  in  a  long  and  interesting  re- 
port from  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  B.  Turnock.  The 
cause  had  hitherto  been  very  low  inthis  town,  so  that 
the  visit  was  anticipated  with  eager  expectation.  A 
specially  interesting  feature  of  the  work  here  consisted 
in  the  open-air  meetings,  which  were  carried  on  in 
connection  with  it.     Mr.  Turnock  writes: 

"  Some  of  our  praying  men  formed  themselves  into  a  band, 
and  about  an  hour  before  the  evening  service  went  through  the 
streets  singing,  giving  short  addresses  at  the  corners,  warning 
sinners  and  inviting  people  to  the  house  of  God.  This  roused 
the  attention  of  the  people  and  they  began  to  say  'V/hat  is 
the  meaning  of  this?    What  are  these  Methodists  about? " 

"  For  a  period  of  nearly  six  weeks  the  good  work  has  gone 
on,  and  oh,  what  scenes  have  we  beheld!  Penitent  sinners 
have  come  up  the  aisle  so  overcome  with  emotion  as  to  be 
hardly  able  to  reach  the  rail.  Fathers  and  sons,  mothers  and 
daughters,  have  knelt  side  by  side  at  the  communion  rail, 
weeping  tears  of  joy. 

"  The  services  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  our 
members,  rousing  the  careless  and  quickening  the  cold  and 
formal.-  There  seems  to  be  new  life  and  energy  all  around  us. 
The  people  are  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

"  The  last  Sabbath  is  one  which  will  never  be  forgotten. 
The  whole  place  was  packed  and  yet  crowds  kept  rushing  on- 
ward like  a  stream,  and  we  were  obliged  to  lock  the  chapel 

262 


BIRMINGHAM. 


263 


gates,  leaving  hundreds  outside.  It  was  truly  delightful  to  see 
the  huge  mass  of  people  rise  to  sing.  The  preacher  was  again 
earnest,  terrible,  melting,  full  of  pathos.  The  word  was  with 
power.  What  a  glorious  night  this  was,  such  as  I  had  never 
seen  before !  Seventy-tivo  souls  professed  to  find  peace  with 
God.  I  need  not  say  there  was  deep  excitement,  but  it  was 
holy,  pure,  such  as  I  hope  often  to  see." 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Regarding  the  subject  of  religious  excitement  here 
referred  to,  Mrs.  Booth  made  the  following  observa- 


Booth    on 
religious 

Ci]CCXt€~ 

tions  at  the  close  of  her  prolonged  ministry,  with  its      ment. 
multitudinous  opportunities  for  observation : 

"  It  has  always  been  a  cause  of  amazement  to  me  how  it  is 
that  intelligent  people  can  fail  to  perceive  the  connection  be- 
tween feeling  and  demonstration.  How  utterly  unphilosophi- 
cal  is  the  prevailing  notion  that  persons  can  be  deeply  moved 
on  religious  subjects,  any  more  than  on  worldly  ones,  without 
manifesting  their  emotions !  This  insane  idea  has  done  more, 
I  doubt  not,  to  grieve  the  spirit  of  God  and  discourage  and 
extinguish  vital  religion  than  almost  anything  else.  It  has 
always  seemed  to  me  better  to  have  wild  fire  than  no  fire  at 
all.  Certainly  it  would  be  more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit 
and  practice  chronicled  in  the  Bible,  to  allow  individuals  too 
wide  an  expansion  of  joy  and  sentiment,  rather  than  to  damp 
the  light  and  extinguish  any  manifestation  whatever. 

"  The  cold,  formal  services  of  the  Protestant  church  have 
done  more  to  shut  out  from  it  the  sympathy  and  adhesion  of 
the  masses  than  any  other  cause,  or  indeed  than  all  other 
causes  put  together.  The  people  will  forgive  anything  better 
than  death  and  formality.  Had  I  my  time  to  go  over  again, 
I  would  not  only  be  far  more  indulgent  toward  the  natural 
manifestation  of  feeling,  but  would  do  more  to  encourage  it 
than  I  have  done  before. 

"  Not  that  I  would  advocate  a  rowdy  and  boisterous  manner. 
But  the  attitude  of  many  churches  seems  to  me  to  be  illus- 
trated by  some  families,  where  the  father  is  so  austere,  and 
keeps  at  so  great  a  distance  from  his  children,  that  they 
hardly  dare  speak  or  breathe  in  his  presence.  There  is  no 
natural  spontaneous  expression  of  either  thought  or  feeling, 
but  the  whole  family  seem  to  live,  move,  and  have  their  being 


Eril  effect 
of  for- 
mality. 


No  advo- 
cate of 
rowdy- 
ism. 


Be 
natural. 


264 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Mr.  Booth 
visits  tiis 

native 

toivn. 


Enter- 
tains mis- 
givings. 


His  fears 
prove 
ground- 
less. 


in  a  constrained  atmosphere  of  awe,  whereas  if  you  follow  the 
same  children  into  the  nursery,  or  see  them  where  they  are 
alone  with  their  mother  and  free  to  act  out  the  impulses  of 
their  nature,  you  would  hardly  believe  they  were  the  same 
creatures.  But  in  a  rightly  regulated  family,  while  the 
parents  will  maintain  their  proper  respect  and  authority, 
there  will  be  a  suitable  afid  natural  expression  of  feeling." 

The  next  town  visited  was  Nottingham,  Mr.  Booth's 
birthplace.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  days  spent 
from  time  to  time  with  his  mother,  he  had  seen  noth- 
ing of  it  since  leaving  for  London  in  1849.  He 
observed  in  his  journal : 

"  Sunday,  November  30th,  1856. — My  native  town.  Concern- 
ing this  place  I  must  confess  I  have  entertained  some  fears. 
Being  so  well  known  and  remembering  that  a  prophet  is  not 
without  honour  save  in  his  own  country,  I  had  dreaded  the 
critical  hearing  of  those  for  whom  I  had  in  my  youth  con- 
tracted that  reverence  which  in  after  life  perhaps  never  fully 
leaves  us.  However,  my  confidence  was  in  my  message  and 
my  trust  was  in  my  Master." 

A  little  later  he  is  able  to  summarise  the  six  weeks' 
work  in  the  following  encouraging  terms : 

"  I  concluded  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  About  seven 
hundred  and  forty  names  have  been  taken,  and,  on  the  whole, 
the  success  has  far  exceeded  my  expectations  and  has  been  a 
cause  for  sincere  gratitude.  My  great  concern  is  for  the  fu- 
ture. Oh  that  preachers  and  people  may  permanently  secure 
the  harvest  and  go  on  to  still  greater  and  more  glorious  tri- 
umphs !  " 

When  it  is  remembered  that  Mr.  Booth  was  only 
twenty-seven  at  the  time  of  this  visit,  and  that  he  had 
been  but  two  and  a  half  years  in  the  New  Connexion 
ministry,  the  result  of  these  meetings  will  appear  the 
more  remarkable. 

Mrs.  Booth  sends  the  following  account  to  her 
parents : 


NOTTINGHAM. 


265 


December  15th,  1856. 

"  The  work  here  exceeds  anything  I  have  yet  witnessed. 
Yesterday  the  chapel,  which  is  a  very  large  one,  seating  up- 
wards of  twelve  hundred  people,  was  full  in  the  morning  and 
at  night  hundreds  went  away  unable  to  get  in.  It  was  so 
packed  that  all  the  windows  and  doors  had  to  be  set  wide 
open.     Sixty-seven  came  forward  in  the  prayer-meeting. 

"  The  movement  is  taking  hold  of  the  town.  The  preacher 
and  his  plans  are  the  topics  of  conversation  in  all  directions. 
Numbers  of  William's  old  Wesleyan  friends  come,  and  the 
infidels  are  mustering  their  forces.  The  Mayor  and  Mayoress, 
with  a  family  of  fine  young  men,  are  regular  attendants  and 
st&yed  to  the  prayer-meeting  the  other  night.  The  folks 
seem  as  if  one  of  the  old  prophets  had  risen  or  John  the 
Baptist  come  again.  It  is  so  different  to  their  ordinary 
routine.  I  never  saw  so  respectable  an  audience,  and  yet  one 
so  riveted  in  their  attention.  How  ready  the  Lord  is  to  work 
when  man  will  work  too!" 


1856, 
Age  27. 


Mrs. 
Booth'' a 
account 
of  the. 
Notting- 
ham re- 
vival. 


The   toivn 
stirred. 


Another 
account. 


Mr.  J.  Harvey,  the  Society  Steward,  writing  to  the 

Magazine,  says: 

"  We  had  our  commodious  chapel  nearly  filled  every  week- 
night  and  crowded  to  excess  on  the  Sunday  evening,  so  that 
hundreds  had  to  go  away.  Mr.  Booth  is  certainly  an  extraor- 
dinary man.  I  never  passed  such  a  six  weeks  in  my  life.  The 
services  were  kept  up  with  thrilling  interest  night  after  night. 
His  appeals  and  arguments  were  such  as  uprooted  the  deep 
prejudice  and  hatred  of  the  infidel,  made  gospel-hardened  sin- 
ners tremble,  and  caused  many  to  exclaim,  'What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved?' 

"  The  general  results  of  the  services  are  these.      The  chapel   Every  sit- 
is  filled.     Every  sitting  is  let,  and  many  persons  have  applied     ^^"^  '^*' 
whom  we  have  not  been  able  to  accommodate  for  want  of 
room.     The  classes  are  greatly  increased,  and  some  new  ones 
formed.     The  prayer-meetings  are  crowded  to  excess." 

Nevertheless  the  superintending  minister,  the  Rev.  opposi- 

P.  J.  Wright,  although  he  had  concurred  in  sending  ^^i^perin- 

the  invitation,   received  Mr.  and   Mrs.  Booth  in  the  *«^i^«*^*- 
coldest  possible  manner,  and  soon  made  it  manifest 


266  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1857,  that  he  was  no  friend  to  them  or  their  work.  He  was 
^^  '  unable,  however,  to  give  vent  to  his  feelings,  owing 
to  the  all  but  unanimous  manner  in  which  the  society 
and  congregation  supported  the  movement.  The 
tide  was  too  deep  and  strong  for  him  to  offer  it  any 
open  resistance,  so  that  to  all  outward  appearance  he 
went  with  the  stream  of  popular  feeling.  His  opposi- 
tion to  the  movement  became  more  manifest  when 
the  meetings  had  drawn  to  a  close,  and  a  promising 
work  was  thus  checked  and  suffered  to  languish.  He 
afterwards  became  one  of  the  chief  opponents  in  tiie 
Conference  of  Mr.  Booth's  evangelistic  labors,  and 
was  in  a  large  measure  the  cause  of  his  being  ulti- 
mately compelled  to  leave  the  Connexion. 
A  visit  to  From  Nottingham  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded  to 
London  for  a  fortnight's  rest,  spending  the  time  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mumford.  We  cull  the  following  note 
from  Mr.  Booth's  diary: 

"Saturday,  January  loth,  1857. — We  cameonto  London  for 
our  rest. 

"Sunday,  January  nth. —  Heard  Mr.  Spurgeon,  and  was 
much  pleased  and  profited — a  truly  simple,  earnest,  and  faith- 
ful sermon.     I  doubt  not  he  is  doing  a  very  great  work." 


Mr.  Booth 


Leaving  Mrs.  Booth  and  the  baby  with  her  parents 
at        in  London,  Mr.  Booth  proceeded  to  Chester,  where  he 

Chester.  ,     ^ .  -„       ,    .  . 

encountered  difficulties  of  a  somewhat  novel  nature. 

The  minister,  the  Rev.   D.  Round,  gave  him  a  most 

hearty  reception.     The  people  also  co-operated.     But 

some  time  after  the  meetings  had  commenced  a  news- 

passaye    P^pcr  Came  out  with  an   attack  on  the  revival,  and 

''with"a     ^^^^y   for  tfie  moment,   checked  the  progress  of  the 

news-     -work.     It  was  a  new  and  therefore  painful  experience 

to  the  young  preacher,  whose  sensitive  nature  tempted 

him  to  shrink  from  the  encounter.     A  kindly  Provi- 


CHESTER. 


267 


dence,  however,  prevented  his  foreseeing  the  inky 
oceans  of  misrepresentation  and  calumny  through 
which  his  bark  was  yet  to  sail,  or  perhaps  the  pros- 
pect would  have  utterly  discouraged  his  heart.  But 
keenly  as  he  felt  the  slanders  and  deeply  as  he  re- 
gretted their  influence  in  preventing  penitents  from 
coming  forward  with  their  usual  readiness  at  his 
meetings,  he  fought  his  way  resolutely  through  and 
achieved  a  complete  success,  which  was  only  rendered 
the  more  striking  by  the  temporary  pause.  More 
than  a  hundred  persons  came  forward  during  the  last 
three  days,  and  the  farewell  meeting  and  tea  were  as 
enthusiastic  as  any  that  had  gone  before.  More  than 
four  hundred  names  were  taken  during  the  five  weeks 
of  his  stay. 

The  newspaper  opposition  produced  another  effect, 
which  was  altogether  unexpected  by  its  author,  in  at- 
tracting to  the  meetings  crowds  of  persons  belonging 
to  a  very  different  class  to  the  regular  chapel-goers 
who  had  hitherto  composed  the  bulk  of  Mr.  Booth's 
congregations.  For  the  first  time  in  his  ministerial 
experience,  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  a  god- 
less, mocking  crowd  of  young  men.  He  was  taken 
quite  by  surprise  and  considerably  disconcerted.  In 
writing  to  his  wife  he  says : 

"  We  are  damaged  in  the  prayer-meetings  by  lookers-on.  I 
fight  them  as  closely  as  I  can.  But  some  of  them  are  very 
impudent.     May  the  Lord  undertake  for  us!  " 

Writing  a  few  days  later  he  adds : 

"  We  had  one  of  the  most  painful  disappointments  yester- 
day I  ever  had  to  encounter.  The  night  congregation  was 
overwhelming,  hundreds  going  away  unable  to  get  admission. 
There  was  some  influence  in  the  prayer-meeting,  but  we  only 
took  fifteen  names.  You  see  this  abominable  and  lying  article 
in  the  newspaper  causes  swarms  of  people  to  come  out  of 


1857. 
Age  28. 


A  strik- 
ing 
vicioi'y. 


Four 

hundred 

penitents. 


Another 
difficulty. 


A  mock- 
ing 
crowd. 


268  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1857,       sheer  curiosity,  and  they  stand  and  gaze  about,  some  of  them 
Age  28.     actually  laughing  during  the  services!     However,  we  must 
fight  it  out," 

A  dis'  Mr.  Booth  had  not  yet  learned  to  rejoice  at  being 

7m^rSe.  ^ble  thus  night  after  night  to  attract  the  most  godless. 
His  first  encounter  with  the  very  people  whose  special 
chaplain  he  was  destined  to  become  came  upon  him 
as  a  disagreeable  surprise.  But  he  quickly  rose  to 
the  occasion,  and  grappled  in  his  own  masterly,  inimi- 
table fashion  with  the  consciences  of  the  Christo-hea- 
then  audience,  who  had  begun  so  strangely  to  take 
pleasure  in  the  chapel  services,  which  they  had  so  long 
looked  upon  with  scorn.  How  he  dealt  with  them 
and  brought  the  thunder  and  lightning  of  the  law  to 
bear  upon  their  hearts,  we  are  able  to  gather  from 
his  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Booth.  Unfortunately 
her  replies  to  him  are  missing,  or  they  would  un- 
doubtedly have  supplied  an  important  link  in  the 
historical  chain,  showing  how  she  seconded  and  en- 
couraged him  in  his  new  and  perplexing  position. 

"We  had  a  tremendous  struggle  at  the  chapel,"  Mr.  Booth 
writes  on  February  i8th.  "  I  never  saw  anything  like  it  in  my 
life.  We  were  crowded  above  and  below,  and  having  been 
out  all  day,  I  was  poorly  prepared  in  mind  and  much  fatigued 
in  body,  yet  I  was  pressed  in  sj>/n't  and  the  Lord  helped  me  to 
preach  as  I  very,  very  seldom  do  !  Oh,  the  words  seemed  like 
Jagged  jagged  daggers  running  into  the  hearts  of  the  people!  And 
daggers.  ^^^^  though  the  great  mass  of  them  stayed  to  the  prayer-meet- 
ing, we  had  only  twenty-one  souls.  We  ought  to  have  had 
fifty  or  more.  That  abominable  paper  has  helped  to  raise  all 
this  opposition.  It  has  encouraged  a  lot  of  ignoramuses  to 
come  and  mock.  They  have  no  shame.  You  cannot  make 
them  feel." 

In  another  letter  he  writes : 

"  W  e  had  a  good  night.     I  preached  from  '  What  must  I  do  to 
be  saved?'     We  had  not  much  power  during  the  first  part  of 


CHESTER. 


269 


1857, 
Age  28. 

What 


the  sermon,  but  during  the  appeal  'What  must  I  do  to  be 

damned?'     I  don't  remember  ever  having  more.     In  fact  Mr. 

Round  said  this  morning  that  he  never  felt  so  much  under 

any  appeal  before  in  his  life,  and  that  he  could  have  knelt  mustYdo 

down  and  wept  his  heart  away  at  the   conclusion.     George     ,  '^^^'.a 
•  -,,         ^1  ,  r        ■         X  -ii  •/-       damned? 

Pox  said  he  could  not  sleep  after  it.     It  was  indeed  terrijic. 

I  felt  astounded  at  it  myself.     Of  course  I  can  only  talk  in 

this  way  to  my  wife." 


A  rough 
fisticuff. 


It  was  a  significant  moment,  when  William  Booth  Reaching 
and  the  rough  churchless  elements  of  England's  pop-  masses. 
ulation  first  found  themselves  face  to  face  in  close 
encounter!  He  did  not  remain  long  on  the  defensive, 
just  time  enough  to  measure  his  antagonist  with  his 
eye,  and  then  closed  with  him  in  the  life-grapple  which 
has  resulted  in  such  glorious  accomplishment.  Not 
with  a  single  blow,  or  round,  however,  was  this  en- 
counter to  be  completed.  It  was  scarcely  more  than  a 
skirmish,  a  rough  fisticufi^,  in  which  each  party  began 
to  test  its  powers.  Nevertheless  the  champions  of 
ruffianism  realised  ere  long  that  some  one  had  entered 
the  ring  who  was  to  meet  them  on  their  own  ground 
and  to  prove  more  than  a  match  for  them,  aiming  re- 
sistless blows  at  their  hearts  and  consciences,  and  com- 
ing off  conqueror  on  many  a  hard-fought  field. 

Thus  Mr.  Booth  caught  the  eye  and  ear  of  the  The  mod 
masses,  just  as  previously  he  had  riveted  the  atten-  GoUath. 
tion  of  the  Christian  Church.  He  was  still  but  a 
stripling — this  latter-day  David.  But  he  lodged  a 
stone  in  the  forehead  of  the  modern  Goliath,  the 
effects  of  which  have  not  yet  ceased  to  be  felt.  He 
obtained  a  hold  which  he  has  never  lost.  Whatever 
faults  the  rougher  masses  of  the  world's  population  may 
possess,  they  admire  a  man  who  has  the  courage  of 
his  convictions,  and  who  is  not  afraid  to  beard  them 
boldly  in  their  dens  of  sin,  misery,  and  desperation. 


270 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1857, 
Ag6  28, 


Minister- 
ial oppo- 
sition. 


But  the  opposition  manifested  by  a  certain  minis- 
terial clique,  who  viewed  with  jealousy  the  rising 
popularity  and  success  of  the  young  minister,  was 
now  beginning  to  take  shape.  The  perplexity  and 
sorrow  which  this  occasioned  to  Mr,  Booth  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  extract  from  one  of  his 
letters  to  Mrs.  Booth : 


An  "  Our  secretary  was  through  here  this  morning,"  writes  Mr. 

enigma.  gQQ^j^  "  jje  did  not  please  me.  I  can't  understand  it.  A 
certain  knot  of  the  ministers  are  an  enigma  to  me.  They 
seem  to  have  very  little  sympathy  and  appear  only  to  use  me 
to  get  up  revivals  to  push  their  machines,  and  to  help  them 
when  all  other  means  fail.  The  great,  high,  and  holy  view  I 
have  of  the  movement  does  not  seem  to  enter  into  their  calcu- 
lations. Well,  I  gave  him  a  broadside  or  two,  and  then  left 
him.  Mr.  Round  is  worth  a  laneful  of  such  cold,  icy-hearted, 
all-brained  folk.  But  my  little  wife  must  not  talk  in  this 
way.     She  must  only  listen  to  her  husband !  " 

Mr.  Booth       There  is  an  interesting  reference  in  these  letters 

Wl  ^6  ts  JJ^t* 

Reginald   to   Mr.    Booth's   first  meeting   with    the   well-known 
c  iffe.   gyangelist,  Mr.  Reginald  Radcliffe : 

"  13th  February. 
"  Mr.  Radcliffe,  a  solicitor  from  Liverpool,  was  here  last 
night.  He  is  a  rather  singular,  and  at  the  same  time  a  very 
devoted,  man.  He  consecrates  his  life  and  efforts  and  fortune 
to  the  great  work  of  saving  men.  I  am  informed  that  he  goes 
up  and  down  the  country  preaching  the  gospel  anywhere  that 
Preach-  he  can  obtain  an  opening.  He  especially  attends  races,  ex- 
^exicution.  ecutions,  and  such  like  large  gatherings  of  people.  For  in- 
stance, the  other  day  a  man  was  hanged  at  Chester.  Mr.  Rad- 
cliffe came  over  two  or  three  days  before  the  day  fixed,  drew 
up  a  plan  of  the  different  routes  by  which  people  would  ap- 
proach the  gallows,  and  when  night  came  he  placed  a  man 
with  a  large  supply  of  tracts  at  each  road,  and  thus  put  some 
papers  on  Salvation  into  the  hands  of  every  person  who  came. 
In  addition  to  this  he  had  four  or  five  preachers  at  work  be- 
sides himself. 


CHESTER. 


271 


"  It  appears  that  he  had  heard  about  me  at  Macclesfield  and       1857, 
Nottingham,  and  last   Sunday  he  sent  one  of  his  preachers  to     ^^^  ^^• 
see  me  with  an  invitation  to  Liverpool.     He  proposes  taking 
for  me  a  large  theatre,  capable  of  holding  between  two  and    Liverpool. 
three  thousand  people,  the  effort  to  be  unsectarian  and  no 
collections,  he  undertaking  to  meet  all  expenses,  and  allowing 
the  New  Connexion  to  take  the  converts.     He  is  a  nice  fellow, 
a  brave  man,  and  a  true  Christian.     I  like  him  much.     But  of 
course  I  cannot  at  present  entertain  anything  of  this  char- 
acter." 


Mr,  Radcliffe  has  since  proved  a  long  and  consistent 
friend  of  the  Salvation  Army,  frequently  attending 
its  meetings  and  inviting  its  leaders  to  his  own.  Of 
late  years  his  special  interest  has  been  concentrated 
upon  the  foreign  mission  field,  on  behalf  of  which  he 
has  labored  indefatigably,  urging  Christians  to  give 
themselves  up  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen. 

The  Chester  revival  exercised  a  powerful  influence 
on  the  surrounding  villages. 

"  I  never  was  better  pleased  with  people,"  writes  Mr.  Booth, 
"  than  I  am  with  the  poor  country  folk.  They  come  four,  five, 
six,  seven,  eight,  and  nine  miles  night  after  night,  and  many 
of  them  have  found  the  Lord.  Thank  God,  the  common  peo- 
ple hear  me  gladly.  I  believe  I  should  be  a  great  deal  more 
useful  among  the  simple-hearted  country  people  than  I  am 
among  the  fashionable,  hard-hearted,  half-infidel  townsfolk, 
with  their  rotten  hearts  and  empty  heads,  and  yet  full-blown 
conceit  and  pride  !  " 

An  interesting  case  of  conversion  from  among  the 
former  class  is  recorded  in  the  Magazi)ic  : 

"  A  man,  verging  on  sixty,  whose  best  deeds  for  many  years 
have  been  poaching  and  drunkenness,  with  its  almost  invari- 
able accompaniment,  cruelty  to  those  who  claimed  his  love, 
and  from  whose  presence  the  street  children  fled,  and  men 
and  women  turned  in  silent  fear,  came  to  the  house  of  God. 
He  was  attracted  by  the  fame  of  the  preacher,  heard  the  truth, 
felt  its  power,  bowed  to  its  influence,  sought  and  found  mercy 


His  atti- 
tude to  the 
Army, 


and  for- 
eign   mis- 
sions. 


Simpli- 
city of  the 
country 
people. 


Ajjoacher 
converted. 


272  AIRS.  BOOTH. 

1857,       in  Christ.     Now,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  has  also  given 
Age  28.     j^gj-  heart  to  God  during  these  services,  he  regularly  attends 
the  meetings,  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind!  " 

Personal-  But  wc  tum  from  the  account  of  the  Chester  meet- 
ings to  some  personal  and  domestic  passages  con- 
tained in  Mr.  Booth's  letters,  sent  to  Mrs.  Booth  at 
this  time : 

"  How  is  baby?  Bless  his  little  heart!  Tell  him  his  papa 
prays  for  him  and  hopes  that  God  will  make  him  a  Luther  to 
pull  down  the  dreadful  abuses  under  which  the  church  groans. 
O  Kate,  ours  is  a  solemn  and  important  vocation,  the  training 
of  that  boy ! 
Home  dis-  "  So  you  had  to  whip  him  to  obtain  the  mastery,  and  now  he 
cipline.  jg  king,  seeing  that  you  are  ill !  I  often  think  about  him  and 
imagine  I  see  him  lifting  up  his  little  arms  to  me.  Bless  him ! 
Oh,  may  he  indeed  be  'great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,'  and 
whether  esteemed  or  not  by  men,  God  grant  that  he  may  be 
holy  and  useful. 
Growing  "  May  God  bless  you  with  every  earthly  and  heavenly  bless- 
in  enthu-  -^g  ^^^  shelter  you  under  His  spreading  wings  from  all  evil! 
So  most  devoutly  prays  the  father  of  your  darling  boy,  and 
the  beloved  of  your  soul !  You  see,  I  am  making  progress  in 
enthusiasm,  as  I  grow  in  years  and  continue  in  absence! 
Well,  I  love  you !  And  the  love  I  bear  you  and  my  sweet 
little  son  is  a  constant  joy  to  me.  I  would  not  part  with  you 
for  worlds — for  naught,  save  in  submission  to  the  will  of  our 
Holy  Father.  But  God  grant  that  day  may  be  very  far  dis- 
tant." 

In  a  later  letter  he  writes: 


Little 
Sunshine. 


"  I  am  glad  little  'Sunshine'  is  better.  lam  anxious  to  hear 
more  about  him.  He  is  a  joy  to  me.  I  often  bless  God  for 
bestowing  such  a  treasure  upon  us.  Let  us  regard  him  as  a 
loan  from  Heaven,  and  ever  remember  that  it  may  please  the 
Lender  at  some  tmexpected  season  to  resume  the  gift — to 
call  in  the  loan.  May  he  be  continued  to  us,  but  oh,  how  im- 
portant to  be  in  a  measure  prepared  for  such  an  emergency." 

There  are  some  flippant  allusions  to  homoeopathy. 


CHESTER. 


273 


1857. 
Age  28. 

The  Gene- 
ral on 
homoeo- 
pathy. 


The  General  could  not  extend  his  faith  to  believe  in 
the  little  charmed  tasteless  globules !  However,  he 
was  troubled  with  a  bad  face,  and  writes  to  say: 

"  If  it  does  not  get  better  I  shall  go  to  the  homoeopathic 
doctor.  Chester  is  either  blessed  or  cursed  with  three  of  them. 
But  as  you  deem  it  a  blessing,  I  am  fain  in  this,  as  in  many- 
other  respects,  to  pin  my  faith  to  your  sleeve,  and  with  me 
there  the  controversy  ends !  So  I  throw  up  my  cap  and  shout 
'Hurrah  for  homoeopathy! '  with  its  infinite  quantity  of  infini- 
tesimal doses,  in  whatever  society  I  may  be  where  the  ques- 
tion is  mooted.  All  because  I  have  such  a  blessed  little  wife, 
in  whose  judgment  I  can  confide  on  matters  physical." 

Ag-ain  he  writes,  making  Mrs.  Booth  the  receptacle    a  dark 

sscisotx 

of  his  confidence,  during  a  season  of  depression: 

"  I  have  not  been  in  very  good  spirits  to-day.  I  have  been 
looking  at  the  dark  side  of  myself.  In  fact  I  can  find  no  other 
side.  I  seem  to  be  all  dark,  mentally,  physically,  spiritually. 
The  Lord  have  mercy  on  me!  I  feel  I  am  indeed  so  thoroughly 
unworthy  the  notice  of  either  God  or  man.  My  preaching  is 
more  than  ever,  or  as  much  as  ever,  at  a  discount  in  my  es- 
timation. And  yet  I  cannot  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  it 
answers  the  great  end  of  preaching  better  than  the  efforts  of 
many.  Still  this  yields  me  but  little  comfort.  I  must  try 
again.  My  sermons  arouse  and  attract  attention  and  create 
conviction  and  alarm,  but  they  don't  push  men  sufficiently  into 
the  fountain.     God  help  me !  " 

The  letters  contain  tender  assurances  of  affection 
such  as  the  following : 


"  Continue  to  love  me.  Aye,  let  us  love,  as  God  would 
have  us  love  one  another,  and  let  us  realise  on  earth  in  spirit, 
what  Swedenborg  said  he  saw  in  his  vision  in  Heaven,  that 
man  and  wife  there  melted  into  one  angel.  Let  us  be  one.  I 
am  quite  sure  that  we  do  now  realise  far  more  of  this  blissful 
union,  this  oneness,  than  very  many  around.  I  meet  with  but 
few  who  think  and  love  and  hate  and  admire  and  desire  a/ike 
to  the  same  extent  that  v/e  do,  and  also  with  very  few  who 
18 


Sweden- 
borg^s 
vision. 


274 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1 857, 
Age  28. 


The  dis- 
embodied 
souls  that 

dwell  in 
books. 


Assur- 
ances of 
affection. 


realise  as  much  domestic  and  conjugal  felicity.  And  yet  there 
are  many  things  in  me  that  want  mending.     God  help  me ! 

"  I  care  less  for  so-called  society  day  by  day.  For  instance 
in  this  house  there  is  not  a  congenial  soul,  except  those  dis- 
embodied ones  that  dwell  in  books!  I  feel  more  than  ever 
the  worth  of  your  society,  and  that  with  it  and  my  work  I  am 
content.  The  converse  of  others  profits  me  very  little,  and 
pleases  vie  less. 

"  I  intend  arranging  for  a  second  visit  to  this  city  next 
year,  so  that  you  will  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  it. 
However  there  is  not  much  to  look  at  save  a  fine  race-course, 
some  ancient  walls,  and  your  old-fashioned,  queer,  eccentric, 
go-ahead  husband. 

"  I  reciprocate  your  desires  most  ardently  for  an  interview. 
I  think  about  you.  I  can't  say  I  dream  about  you,  for  I  have 
not  done  so  since  we  parted.  I  wish  I  could.  I  should  love 
to  see  yoti,  if  it  were  only  in  imagination!  Affection  cer- 
tainly grows  with  absence.  I  am  sure  my  affection  has  in- 
creased since  we  parted.  How  strange  is  the  feeling  that 
binds  us  together,  and  makes  us  single  each  other  out  from 
the  wide,  wide  world,  and  makes  our  hearts  fly  to  each  other 
like  two  magnets !  I  think  my  heart  beats  as  proudly  and 
truly  to  you  as  ever, — aye,  more  than  ever.  Oh,  how  many 
blessings  God  has  bestowed  upon  us !  Let  us  praise  Him  with 
all  our  powers  and  serve  Him  all  our  days ! " 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

BRISTOL,    TRURO,   ST.   AGNES.      1857. 

As  soon  as  the  Chester  meetings  were  brought  to  a     Bristol 
conclusion  Mr.   Booth  took  train  for  London,  where  "'^etrnGrs. 
he  rejoined  Mrs.  Booth  and  started  with  her  for  Bris- 
tol.    The  comparative  dependence  of  a  preacher  upon 
his  building  here  forced  itself  painfully  upon  his  at- 
tention, as  it  had  previously  done  in  York,  where  the 
echo  was  so  distressing  that  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  be  understood  beyond  the  first  few  rows  of  listen- 
ers.    In  the  present  case  the  architect  had  paid  more 
attention  to  the  outside  appearance  of  the  chapel  than 
to  the  comfort  of  its  worshippers.     The  building  had        ^ 
obtained  so  evil  a  reputation  for  draughtiness  that  it  draughty 
was    difficult   to    secure   an    audience.      Mrs.    Booth 
mentions  in  her  letters   that  each  time  her  husband 
went  to  the  meeting  he   seemed  to  take  a  fresh  cold. 
The  present  incumbent  was  one  of  the  cold  perfunc- 
tory sort,  and  felt  no  particular  interest  in  the  success 
of  the  meetings.     Since    the  departure  of  his  more 
popular  predecessor,  the  cause    had    languished  and 
their  only  preacher  had  left  them. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  a  check 
at  that  Mr.  Booth,  during  his  short  stay  of  three  ''suits'^''' 
weeks,  did  not  witness  results  so  great  and  glorious  as 
had  elsewhere  been  his  privilege.  And  yet,  as  was 
afterward  proved,  there  were  few  cities  in  the  king- 
dom so  capable  of  being  powerfully  stirred  as  Bristol. 
Here,  as  in  Sheffield,  there  was   a  deep  undercurrent 

275 


2/6  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1857,      of  religious  sentiment  that  only  needed  to  be  success- 
Age  28.    £^j2y  tapped  by  the  Divine  Hand  to  send  forth  an  ample 
A  hopeful  stream  of  living  water.     But  though  the  source  was 
•^^^^'       not  far  from  the  surface,  its  discovery  was  for  a  sea- 
son delayed,   and  despite  the  fact  that  considerable 
good  was  accomplished,  it  was  with  feelings  of  no  little 
disappointment    that    Mr.  Booth  concluded  his  meet- 
ings and  started  off  with  Mrs.^  Booth  for  his  next  ap- 
pointment. 
Checks  to       And  yet  it  was  a  useful  experience,  proving  as  it  did 

(z  vcvivctl 

that  no  matter  how  good  and  efficient  the  instrument 

might  be,  it  was  possible  for  the  best  laid  plans  and 

most  ceaseless  toil  to  be  obstructed  by  adverse  circum- 

Tivo  com-  stances.     There  are  two  opposite,  but  common  errors 

errors,     in  regard  to  successful  work.     The  one  supposes  that 

no  matter  what  measures  may  be  taken  and  efforts  put 

The  Pro-  forth,  a  revival  is  a  special  interposition  of  Providence, 

Theory,  which  can  no  more  be  commanded  than  a  shower  of 
rain.     The  other  takes  it  for  granted  that  it  can  be 

The  all-    brought  about  without  labouring  for  the  fulfilment  of 

theory,  the  necessary  conditions.  Both  conclusions  are  equal- 
ly mistaken.  It  is  as  fatally  possible  to  check  and 
even  extinguish  a  revival  as  it  is  blessedly  possible  to 
create  one.  There  are  churches,  societies,  and  indi- 
viduals which  have  either  drifted  into  a  condition, 
or  voluntarily  placed  themselves  in  a  position,  that 
makes  a  revival  a  moral  impossibility.  The  work  of 
the  evangelist  is  to  establish  communication  between 
the  human  and  the  Divine,  between  the  soul  and  its 
Maker ;  and  in  doing  so  it  is  unhappily  possible  that  the 
surrounding  circumstances,  or  the  condition  of  the 
church,  may  be  such  as  to  paralyze  his  best  efforts. 
To  this  day — alas,  that  it  should  be  so!— there  are 
Chorazins  and  Bethsaidas,  which,  though  exalted  to 
Heaven   by    their   privileges    and   opportunities,   are 


BRISTOL,-  TRURO,    ST.  AGNES.  277 

doomed,  by  their  resistance  to  Divine  influences,  to  be  1857, 
cast  down  to  hell.  Refusing  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  ^^  ^  ' 
spiritual  charmer,  charm  he  never  so  wisely,  they  close 
the  door  of  mercy  against  themselves,  seal  their  own 
doom,  and  condemn  themselves  to  destruction.  "  Woe 
unto  them !  for  they  have  gone  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and 
run  greedily  after  the  error  of  Balaam  for  reward,  and 
perished  in  the  gainsaying  of  Korah." 

From  Bristol  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded  to  Truro,    t^^^  Jour- 

.  ney  to 

by  tram  as  far  as  Plymouth,  and  thence  by  coach.  Truro. 
The  latter  part  of  the  journey  was  especially  trying. 
The  rain  descended  in  torrents.  There  was  barely 
room  for  Mrs.  Booth  inside.  She  was  too  ill  to  take  lit- 
tle Willie,  who  soon,  however,  fell  asleep  in  his  nurse's 
arms  upon  the  box,  equally  unconscious  of  the  storm 
and  of  the  dye  from  his  nurse's  bonnet  strings,  which 
smothered  his  face  with  blue,  causing  him  to  present 
a  somewhat  ludicrous  appearance  on  reaching  his 
journey's  end. 

"It  was  a  wearying  affair,  lean  assure  you,"  Mrs.  Booth 
writes  a  few  days  afterwards.  "  I  have  not  yet  got  over  it, 
though  considerably  better  than  I  was  yesterday.  William 
also  is  very  poorly  with  his  throat  and  head.  I  fear  he  took 
cold  on  the  journey.  'Babs'  seems  to  have  stood  it  the  best 
of  any  of  us.  Bless  him !  he  was  as  good  as  a  little  angel, 
almost  all  the  way  through.  He  has  just  accomplished  the 
feat  of  saying  'Papa.'     It  is  his  first  intelligible  word. 

"  Truro  is  a  neat,  clean,  little  town,  and  surrounded  by  very       Truro 
lovely  scenery.     The   climate   is  much   milder  than   that  of   ^^^seribed. 
Bristol.     The  vegetation  is  much  more  advanced,  flowers  in 
full  bloom,  and  hedges  in  leaf.     It  reminds  me  somewhat  of 
Guernsey.     There  is  just   the   same   softness 'and   humidity 
about  the  atmosphere. 

"  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  my  precious  husband  had  a   A  good  be- 
good  beginning  yesterday.     There  was  a  large  congregation    (/''"'^"^S'- 
in  the  morning,  and  at  night  the  chapel  was  very  full.     I  trust 
there  will  be  a  glorious  move.     If  so,  it  will  be  worth  all  the 


2  78  Mi^S.   BOOTH. 

1857,  toil,  and  I  shall  be  amply  repaid.  Bristol  has  been  a  heavy 
Age  28,  (3^ag  upon  his  spirits.  There  was  something  mysterious 
about  the  whole  thing,  and  he  never  had  his  usual  liberty  in 
preaching.  Yet  I  never  knew  him  in  a  better  state  of  soul. 
Now  here  he  seems  full  of  faith  and  power.  To  God  be  all 
the  glory ! " 

The  i^iih-       What  a  mysterious  phenomenon   is  the  "  liberty  " 

he  sjjeak-  •'  ^ 

er's  lib-    here    referred    to,    the    spiritual    afflatus,    the    unde- 
finable  influence,  the  human  electricity,  which  flashes 
the  thought  currents  from  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
speaker  into  his  audience,  until  they  are  carried  away 
with  they  scarce  know  what.     There  is  a  momentary 
self-annihilation.     Both  speaker  and  listener  are  lost 
in  the  subject,  transported  for  a  season  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  petty  trivialities  that  usually  bound  the 
horizon  of  each  heart's  little   world — transferred  in 
the  fiery  chariot  of  the  hour's  illusion,  they  think  not, 
care  not,  where. 
The  ad-        In  this  respect  the  preacher  has  special  privileges 
vanhiyes    ^^^  advantages  over  the  politician,  the  actor,  or  the 
preacher,    ciemagoguc.     He  is  able  to  play  upon  a  higher  set  of 
compared  motives.     The  appeals  of  the  public  orator  are  usually 
^outic-'^    directed  to  some  natural  instinct  which,  when  exam- 
ian.       ined,  resolves  itself  into  the  merest  selfishness.     Even 
patriotism  is  but  a  refined  and  distilled  form  of  self- 
interest.     Trade,  commerce,  land  and  labour  disputes, 
all  partake  of  the  same.     Vote  for  me,  because  I  will 
do  the  best  for  you,  is  the  stock  argument  of  the  poli- 
tical platform.     Defend  your  own  interests,  take  care 
of  your  own  rights,  is  the  language  of  the  world. 
The  Powerful  appeals  can  doubtless  be  based  upon  such 

'a''"/!?    grounds,  and  rightly  so.     It  is  a  side  of  human  nature 
''ppcai,     which   cannot  be  ignored  by  the  preacher  himself. 
Self-preservation  is  one  of  the  most  widespread  and 
readily  appealed  to  of  all  human  instincts.     The  re- 


BRISTOL,    TRURO,    ST.    AGNES.  279 

ligious  reformer  avails  himself  of  it.  But  he  has  ^^^57,^ 
something  more.  Even  in  this  particular  respect  he 
appeals  to  eternity  as  well  as  time.  He  lifts  the  veil 
and  compares  the  tiny  interests  of  this  world  with 
those  of  a  boundless  hereafter.  He  goes  further.  He 
plies  the  emotions,  the  affections,  the  hopes,  the  fears 
of  his  audience  with  a  ceaseless  fusilade  of  entreaties, 
storms  the  reason  with  resistless  arguments,  and 
awakens  the  ally,  whom  he  is  certain  of  possessing  in 
every  man's  bosom— Conscience,  the  Heaven-ap- 
pointed watchman  of  the  soul. 

Over  the  actor,  he  possesses  the  unspeakable  ad-  '^^X^f 
vantage  of  reality,  and  of  dealing  with  an  immediate      actor. 
present  and  a  never-ending  future  instead  of  a  dead 
past.     Sincerity  lends  force  to  his  utterances.     And 
when  all  these  are  crowned  with  the  Divine  unction,    Unotion. 
with  the  visible  face-illumination  which  marked  Moses 
when  he  descended  from  the  mount,  and  which  now 
distinguishes  those  and  only  those  who  have  personal 
converse  with  their  God,  he  is  able  at  times  to  carry 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers  before  him  as  with  a  whirl- 
wind.    This  at  least  is  what  Mrs.  Booth  here  refers  to 
by  the  expression  "liberty."     This  is  the  high  ideal     AUg}. 
of  what  a  preacher  should  be  and  do— the  privileged 
position  to  which  he  may  and  ought  to  attain.     True, 
there  will  be  fluctuations  in  the  degree,  and  at  times    ^^^ 
it  may  be  unaccountably  missing.     But  the  utter  or     degree, 
continued  absence  of  this  element,  where  such  is  the  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 
case,  shows  that  something  must  be  radically  wrong,   <^ontM 
and  until  it  be  gained  or  recovered,  as  the  case  may  tiiej^en- 
be,  it  were  better  for  the  time  that  the  speaker  closed 
his  lips  and  betook  himself  to  his  knees. 


It  was  the  possession  of  this  peculiar  influence  and    Exempli- 
power  that  constituted  the   special  potency  m  Mrs.       Mrs^ 
Booth's  own  subsequent  ministry.     By  the  time  she 


2  8o 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28. 

Oblivions 
to  time. 


llieir  first 

■visit  to 
Cornwall. 


Cornish 
Method- 
ism, 


Previous 
reports. 


had  finished  her  address  she  was  usually  bathed  in 
perspiration  with  the  intensity  of  the  exertion.  Her 
theme  and  her  audience  would  make  her  oblivious  to 
time  and  every  other  consideration,  and  amid  the 
deathlike  silence  the  musical  cadences  of  her  voice 
seemed  to  make  every  heart  in  the  vast  throng  vibrate, 
while  she  reasoned  v/ith  them  of  "  righteousness,  tem- 
perance, and  judgment  to  come." 

To  return,  however,  to  the  narrative.  "  This  was 
our  first  visit,"  Mrs.  Booth  tells  us,  "to  Cornwall,  and 
we  both  regarded  it  with  no  little  interest.  We  had 
heard  much  about  Cornish  Methodism.  Indeed,  it 
was  said  to  be  the  religion  of  the  county.  The  peo- 
ple were  saturated  with  Methodistic  teaching.  Chap- 
els were  to  be  seen  everywhere,  in  the  towns,  on  the 
moors,  by  the  sea-coast.  There  they  stood,  great 
square  buildings,  often  with  scarcely  a  house  in  sight, 
apparently  equal  to  the  need  of  districts  with  three 
times  the  population.  But  people  or  no  people,  there 
stood  the  chapel,  and  it  was  usually  a  Wesleyan  one. 
Not  only  so,  but  the  congregations  were  there,  crowd- 
ing it  to  the  doors  each  Sunday.  The  parent  Wesleyan 
church  was  very  much  in  the  ascendant.  Our  cause 
was  extremely  low.  In  fact,  it  was  confined  to  Truro, 
and  a  single  outpost  at  St.  Agnes,  a  small  town  in 
the  neighbourhood. 

"  We  had  heard  a  good  deal  about  previous  Cornish 
revivals,  and  the  excitability  of  the  people  at  such 
times.  Hence  we  expected  to  find  them  eager  to  lis- 
ten, easily  moved,  and  ready  to  be  convinced.  But 
in  this  we  were  at  first  a  good  deal  disappointed. 
Although  after  a  time  we  found  ourselves  in  a  perfect 
hurricane  of  excitement,  yet  nowhere  had  the  people 
evinced  at  the  start  such  a  capacity  for  resisting  the 
claims  of  God  and  steeling  their  hearts  against  all 


BRISTOL,    TRURO,    ST.    AGNES.  281 

persuasions.     Pure  children  of  emotion,   when  once      1857, 

A  o-A   28 

carried  away  by  their  feelings,  it  was  difficult  to  place 
any  curb  upon  their  expression. 

"  For  the  first  four  or  five  days,  however,  we  could  WaiUny 
not  persuade  them  to  get  saved.  For  one  thing  they  feelings. 
objected  to  the  penitent  form.  It  was  to  them  a  new 
institution,  and  they  regarded  it  with  suspicion.  They 
were  waiting,  too,  for  the  feelings  under  the  influence 
of  which  they  had  hitherto  been  particularly  accus- 
tomed to  act.  The  appeals  to  their  judgment,  their 
reason,  and  their  conscience  were  not  sufficient  to  in- 
duce them  to  come  forward.  They  did  not  see  the 
value  of  acting  upon  principle  rather  than  on  motion. 
However,  at  length  the  break  came.  It  was  the  Fri- 
day following  the  Sabbath  on  which  the  General  com- 
menced his  meetings  in  the  town.  It  was  a  Good 
Friday,  loth  of  April,  the  anniversary  of  our  engage- 
ment." 

Mr.  Booth  describes  the  meeting  in  a  letter  written 
the  next  day  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mumford : 

"  We  had  a  very  glorious  stir  last  night — such  a  An  excU- 
meeting  for  excitement  and  thrilling  interest  as  I  '"^  scene. 
never  before  witnessed.  The  people  had  been  re- 
straining their  feelings  all  the  week.  Many  of  them 
had  been  stifling  their  convictions.  But  it  burst  out 
last  night,  and  they  shouted  and  danced  and  wept  and 
screamed  and  knocked  themselves  about,  until  I  was 
fairly  alarmed  lest  serious  consequences  might  ensue. 
However,  through  mercy  all  went  off  gloriously, 
twenty-seven  persons  professing  to  find  salvation. 
Praise  the  Lord  for  ever!  I  am  happ5%  but  weary. 
I  have  had  nine  public  services  this  week,  have  to 
attend  a  meeting  to-night,  and  three  more  to-morrow." 

Of  those  who  came  forward  that  night  were  some     , 

.    .  °  Ministers- 

promismg  young  men,    several   of   whom   afterward      to-be. 


2  82  MRS.    BOOTH. 

1857,  became  ministers,  one  of  them  occupying  a  very 
prominent  position.  From  this  time  the  work  went 
forward  in  a  most  encouraging  manner. 

Ahias-         "William    finished    up    at    Truro,    triumphantly," 

convert-  writcs  Mrs.  Booth  from  St.  Agnes  on  the  8th  of  May. 
"  Crowds  were  unable  to  get  in  and  above  thirty  names 
were  taken.  Amongst  them  was  one  very  respectable 
man,  who  had  cautioned  his  wife  a  week  before  against 
going  out  to  the  communion  rail  and  making  a  fool 
of  herself.  He  now  went  up  himself  and  got  glori- 
ously saved.  He  had  been  a  vile  blasphemer.  Many 
are  under  deep  impressions,  who  will  not  yield  to  the 

Ojyposi-     rail.     We  never  were  in  a  place  where  the  opposition 

penitent-    to  it  was  SO  great.     If  we  return  to  Cornwall  we  shall 

go  back  to  Truro,  and  I  have  no  doubt  shall  see  far 

greater  things  than  any  yet. 

Ade-  "We  left  Truro  on  Tuesday,  coming  half-way  by 

of  St.      train,  and  the  remainder  in  a  cart  of  the  ancient  stamp, 

"  9"^«^^-  enough  to  shake  one  to  pieces.  I  feel  the  effects  of 
it  yet.  The  place  is  a  desolate,  and  yet  not  an  unin- 
teresting, spot,  not  above  half  a  mile  from  the  sea, 
and  surrounded  by  the  celebrated  tin  mines  of  this 
county.  We  can  hear  the  machinery  at  times,  and 
in  our  walks  see  some  of  the  operations  through  which 
the  ore  passes.  The  coast  is  a  wild  and  picturesque 
one,  presenting  some  scenes  of  beauty  and  grandeur. 
The  people  are,  as  at  Truro,  strange  in  their  dialect 
and  manners.  They  talk  about  a  revival  in  the  same 
way  that  we  should  about  a  fair,  a  sale,  or  any  other 
worldly  business.    We  expect  to  stop  here  a  fortnight. " 

A  .'strange       An  incident  occurred  during  this  time, of  which  Mrs. 

"'a/iou.*     Booth,  in  later  years,  gives  the  following  account: 

"  The  General  had  a  good  time  here,  and  would 
doubtless  have  reaped  a  rich  harvest,  but  for  a  mis- 
take which  he  made  and  which  he  afterwards  very 


BRISTOL,   TRURO.    ST.   AGNES.  283 

much  reeretted.     We  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  the      1857, 
way  in  which  the  Cornish  people  jumped  and  danced. 
But  at  Truro,  notwithstanding  the  excitement,  we  had 
seen  nothing  to  which  the  most  fastidious  could  object. 
They  told  us,  however,  that  if  anything  moved  at  St. 
Agnes,  the  people  would  'go  off,'  as  they  called  it,  in     ''Gmng 
this  form  of  manifestation.      I  believe  the  General  had 
set  his  face  against  anything  of  this  description  before 
he  went  to  Cornwall.      Indeed,  he  prided  himself  on 
conducting  his  meetings  on  the  highest  level  of  the 
'decency  and  order'  platform.      He  had  told  me  how, 
on  one  occasion,  in  the  Staffordshire  Potteries,  he  had 
stopped  some  women  from  clapping  their  hands  and 
slapping  the   forms  in   a  manner  which  he   fancied 
was  contrary  to  proper  worship,  adding  that  he  always 
put  down  his  foot  on  such  manifestations  and  con- 
trolled them  with  a  firm  hand. 

"  He  was  not  a  little  shocked,  therefore,  one  night,   "GZorj//" 
when  the  feeling  in  the  meeting  was  beginning  to  get 
warm,  to  see  a  dear  woman  spring  to  her  feet  in  an 
ecstasy,  and  begin  to  jump  up  and  down  with  a  meas- 
ured rhythm,  keeping  exact  time  to  the  tune  we  were 
singing,  with  a  little  shout  of  'Glory!'  every  time  she 
went  up.     There  was  nothing  that  I  could  see  con- 
trary to  either  Scripture  or  decorum  in  the  method 
by  which  this    simple   woman    manifested   her   joy, 
though  it  was  certainly  opposed  to  the  cold,  cut-and- 
dried  notion  of  church  order.     The  General,  however,     ^^'^  J^'^'^-^, 
feeling  the  responsibility  of  the  meeting  to  be  resting    misiake. 
upon  him,  and  fearing  lest  the  excitement  might  get 
beyond  bounds,  gave  orders  for  her  to  be  stopped. 
In  the  carrying  out  of  his  instructions  the  exercise  of 
some  slight  physical  force  was  necessary.     This  was 
perceived  by  the  congregation  and  the  influence  of 
the  meeting  was  thus  destroyed.     From  that  time  the 


284 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1857. 
Age  28. 


ilir.s. 

Booth 
defends 
the  jjvin- 

cijile. 


It  is 
natural. 


It  will 
vary. 


The 
martyr 
and  the 

sign. 


work  dragged  heavily,  and,  although  there  was  an 
encouraging  spurt  at  the  end,  yet  the  General  came 
away  realizing  that  he  had  made  a  mistake,  and  de- 
termining that  in  future,  instead  of  stamping  out  the 
excitement,  he  would  content  himself  with  guiding  it." 

"  And  why  not  allow  a  manifestation  of  feeling?"  remarked 
Mrs.  Booth  on  another  occasion.  "  A  gentleman  once  said  to 
me,  'I  never  did  shout  in  my  life,  but  to-day  upon  my  word  I 
couldn't  help  it.'  I  said,  'Amen.  It's  time,  then,  you  be- 
gan. '  I  hope  it  may  be  the  same  with  many  of  you.  When 
the  Lord  comes  to  His  Temple  and  fills  it  with  His  glory  you 
won't  know  what  to  do.  You  must  find  vent  somewhere,  or 
you  will  be  as  the  poor  old  negro  said  he  was,  'ready  to 
burst  his  waistcoat.'  We  feel  so  about  temporal  things. 
People  drop  down  dead  with  joy.  People  shriek  with  grief. 
People's  hearts  stand  still  with  wonder  at  the  news  they  have 
heard,  perhaps  from  some  prodigal  boy.  I  heard  of  a  mother 
not  long  ago,  whom  some  one  injudiciously  told  of  the  sudden 
return  of  her  son,  who  drojDped  down  dead,  and  never  spoke. 
And  when  the  Master  comes  to  His  Temple,  that  glorious 
blessed  Holy  Saviour,  whom  you  profess  so  to  long  after 
and  to  love,  and  who  has  been  absent  so  many  years,  and 
whom  you  have  been  seeking  after  with  strong  crying  and 
tears,  do  you  think  it  will  be  too  much  to  shout  your  song, 
or  go  on  your  face,  or  do  any  extravagant  thing?  Oh  no, 
if  there  is  reality,  you  cannot  help  yourself. 

"  The  manifestation  will  be  according  to  your  nature.  One 
will  fall  down  and  weep  in  quietness,  and  the  other  will  get  up 
and  shout  and  jump.  You  cannot  help  it.  Like  the  two  martyrs, 
one  rejoiced  in  the  realisation  of  God's  presence;  the  other, 
who  was  in  darkness,  yet  did  not  deny  his  Lord  and  turn  his 
back  upon  Him.  He  continued  in  the  way  of  obedience, 
and  the  other  was  encouraging  him  to  hope  and  believe  the 
Master  would  come ;  but  He  did  not  come  until  they  started 
from  the  dungeon  to  the  stake ;  so  they  fixed  i:pon  a  sign, 
and  the  one  said  to  the  other,  'If  He  comes  you  will  give  me 
the  sign  on  the  road. '  The  Master  did  come,  but  the  martyr 
could  not  confine  himself  to  the  sign.  He  shouted,  raising  his 
arms,  to  his  fellow-martyr,  '  He's  come.  He's  come.  He's 
come.'     He  couldn't  help  it.     When  He  comes,  you  won't  be 


BRISTOL,    TRURO,    ST.    AGNES. 


285 


ashamed  who  knows  it.  When  you  really  get  a  living  Christ 
for  your  husband,  you  will  be  more  proud  than  the  bride  is 
who  has  got  a  husband  worth  being  proud  of,  and  you  will 
love  to  acknowledge  and  praise  Him ;  and  the  day  is  coming 
when  you  will  crown  Him  before  all  the  host  of  Heaven.  The 
Lord  help  you  to  accept  Him,  and  put  away  everything  that 
hinders  His  coming.      Amen." 

From  Truro  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  next  proceeded  to 
Stafford,  a  long  and  wearying  journey.  The  increas- 
ing difficulty  of  these  frequent  changes,  and  the  dis- 
tance between  some  of  the  appointments,  gave  rise  to 
a  proposal  for  little  Willie  to  be  sent  for  a  time  to  his 
grandmother.  Mrs.  Booth  speaks  of  the  plan  in  a 
characteristic  letter,  from  which  we  take  the  following : 

May  15th,  1857. 

"  William  intends  going  to  meet  the  Annual  Com- 
mittee before  entering  on  any  more  labour,  having 
had  his  mind  much  pained  and  unsettled  by  informa- 
tion lately  received.     He  wants  to  have  a  clearing  up. 

"  Much  as  I  should  like  to  have  a  settled  home,  you 
know  my  objections  to  leaving  William,  and  they  get 
stronger  as  I  see  the  constant  need  he  has  of  my  pres- 
ence, care,  and  sympathy.  Neither  is  he  willing  for 
it  himself.  He  says  nothing  shall  separate  us,  while 
there  is  any  possibility  of  our  travelling  together. 
Nor  can  I  make  up  my  mind  to  parting  with  Willie, 
first  because  I  know  the  child's  affections  would  in- 
evitably be  weaned  from  us,  and  secondly,  because 
the  next  year  will  be  the  most  important  of  his  life 
with  reference  to  managing  his  will,  and  in  this  I 
cannot  but  distrust  you.  I  know,  my  darling  mother, 
you  could  not  wage  war  with  his  self-will  so  resolutely 
as  to  subdue  it.  And  then  my  child  would  be  ruined, 
for  he  must  be  taught  implicit,  uncompromising 
obedience." 


1857. 

•  Age  28. 


The  1,1 
travel  in 
Stafford. 


The 
Annual 
Com- 
mittee. 


Keeping 
together. 


Cannot 

part  with 

her  boy. 


Afraid  of 
an  indul- 
gent 
grand- 
mother. 


2  86  J//?S.  BOOTH. 

\%S1',  Thus  we  see  how  early  Mrs.  Booth  commenced  the 

^^  ^  ■  training  of  her  family,  and  how  resolutely  she  put 
A  wise  from  her  any  proposal,  however  advantageous  in  other 
decision.  j.ggpg(.|.g^  which  seemed  to  clash  with  the  highest 
spiritual  interests  of  her  children.  Had  she  adopted 
a  different  course  it  is  very  probable  that  the  over- 
indulgence of  a  kind-hearted  and  well-meaning  grand- 
mother would  have  inflicted  irreparable  injury  upon 
the  character  of  the  one  who  was  to  play  so  im- 
portant a  part.  While  Mrs.  Booth  was  no  advocate 
for  undue  severity  with  children,  she  never  failed  to 
call  attention  to  the  incalculable  harm  that  was  inflicted 
upon  them  by  the  over-indulgence  of  their  little  whims 
and  by  the  lack  of  that  firm,  faithful,  and  yet  affec- 
tionate training  so  necessary  for  their  future  welfare. 


CHAPTER  XXVllI. 
THE  CONFERENCE  OF   1857. 

While  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  were  at  Stafford  an  was  it  nn 
incident  occurred,  insignificant  in  itself,  but  which  o"""'^- 
seemed  somewhat  prophetic  of  the  future.  There 
was  a  garden  attached  to  the  house  in  which  they 
were  staying,  and  in  this  little  Willie,  though  but  fif- 
teen months  old,  delighted  to  run  about,  while  Mrs. 
Booth  would  sit  with  her  work  in  a  sheltered  corner 
from  which  she  could  keep  her  eye  upon  him.  One 
day  to  his  joy  he  discovered,  on  the  border  of  the 
pathway,  a  nest  with  the  mother  bird  sitting  on  the 
eggs.  He  was  soon  taught  to  respect  his  newly  found 
treasure,  and  to  keep  his  little  hands  off.  But  many 
were  the  peeps  that  he  indulged  in  from  time  to  time, 
and  it  seemed  that  the  birds  became  accustomed  to 
the  presence  of  their  baby  visitor,  understanding  that 
it  boded  them  no  harm. 

One  morning  Willie  had  toddled  off,  as  usual,  for       The 
his  accustomed  look,  when  a  startled  cry  attracted  his  "^*™^'^*'- 
parents  to  the  spot,  where  they  found  the  eggs  lying 
broken  on  the  pathway,  while  the  nest,  which  had 
been  deserted  by  the  birds,  was  in  the  possession  of 
a  large  beetle. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  could  not  but  wonder  whether  The  Con- 
the  occurrence  had  been  intended  to  prepare  them  for    /^o^J^J^e 
some  approaching  sorrow.     Was  it  that  their  plans  ^i^^wq^!^' 
and  hopes  and  anticipations  for  the  future  were  to  be 
ruthlessly  disturbed?     They  were  not  kept  long  in 

287 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28, 


and  send 
Mr.  Booth 
to  a  cir- 
cuit. 


The  prin- 
cipal op- 
ponents. 


A  friend 
symj)a- 
thises. 


suspense.  The  Conference  were  sitting  in  Notting- 
ham, and  the  next  morning  brought  them  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  their  old  friend,  Mr,  Josiah  Bates,  who 
attended  the  meetings  in  the  capacity  of  Book-Room 
Treasurer : 

Nottingham,  6th  June,  1857. 

"  My  dear  Sir  : — Your  case  has  just  been  decided  after  a 
discussion  which  commenced  in  the  forenoon  and  terminated 
with  the  day's  sitting.  You  are  to  take  a  circuit,  40  in  favour 
of  your  present  course,  44  in  favour  of  your  taking  a  circuit. 
The  feeling  was  strong  against  you.  It  was  yesterday  pro- 
posed that  I  should  be  added  to  the  Annual  Committee  in  the 
place  of  Mr.  Heaps.  But  the  Doctor  (Dr.  Crofts)  opposed  it  on 
the  ground  that  I  was  too  much  mixed  up  with  you.  Nor  did 
they  call  me  before  them,  although  I  requested  it. 

"  The  principal  speakers  against  you  are  Crofts  and  P.  J. 
Wright.  I  tried  hard  to  be  the  last  speaker,  but  P.  J.  evi- 
dently held  back,  and  therefore  I  was  obliged  to  speak.  I  re- 
plied to  every  charge  that  had  been  contained  in  all  the  pre- 
vious arguments,  and  am  told  I  made  a  capital  speech.  How- 
ever, we  lost  it. 

"  I  cannot  go  into  the  details  of  the  discussion  for  want  of 
time.  I  have  no  doubt  the  decision  will  spread  wide  dissatis- 
faction, and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  has  to  be  revised. 

"  Make  up  your  mind  to  the  decision.  It  will  work  together 
for  our  good.  Of  this  I  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  shade  of 
doubt.     May  God  direct  you  into  His  will ! 

"  With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Booth,  I  remain  in  haste, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"Josiah  Bates." 

One  of  the  leading  officials  of  the  Nottingham  Cir- 
cuit wrote  at  the  same  time  as  follows : 


"  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  have  had  communicated  to 
you  the  decision  of  the  Conference  in  respect  to  your  future 
labours.  There  were  40  for  you  remaining  another  year  in 
your  present  position,  and  44  for  your  taking  a  circuit. 

"  I  feel  very  much  in  my  mind  upon  the  subject,  not  so  much 
the  decision,  as  to  have  seen  and  heard  the  determined  oppo- 


THE  CONFERENCE  OF  1837. 


289 


sition  of  some  of  the  leading  ministers.  I  can  see  the  jealousy 
lest  you  should  become  more  useful  than  they.  They  seem  to 
assume  the  position  as  judges  of  the  working  of  men's  hearts 
and  motives.  It  touches  their  dignity.  Though  they  wish  to 
say  and  do  as  they  like,  they  cannot  bear  you  to  have  the  same 
liberty.  I  cannot  put  on  paper  what  my  views  are  of  the  con- 
duct of  our  Superintendent  (Mr.  Wright).  He  has  done  all  he 
could  to  lower  you.  He  has  lowered  himself  very  much  in 
the  eyes  of  many.  His  conduct  at  this  Conference  has  served 
to  show  that  he  will  not  scruple  to  do  anything  to  gain  his  end, 
"  I  am  of  opinion  that  if  you  take  a  circuit  the  Lord  will  open 
your  way  and  bless  your  labours.  .  .  .  You  have  many  sin- 
cere friends.  I  hope  you  will  not  be  cast  down,  but  still  look 
to  God  as  you  have  done  hitherto.  I  never  yet  saw  a  man 
stand  higher  than  his  fellows,  but  envy  soon  arouses  opposi- 
tion. It  always  endeavours  to  pluck  the  finest  fruit  and  to 
destroy  it.     But  your  works  are  before  God." 

A  formal  letter  was  at  the  same  time  received  by- 
Mr.  Booth  from  the  Secretary  to  the  Conference  con- 
veying the  intelligence  of  the  recent  decision.  To 
this  Mr.  Booth  replied  as  follows: 

"June,  1857. 
"  To  THE  Secretary  of  the  New  Connexion  Conference. 

"  My  dear  Sir  : — Yours  containing  the  decision  of  Confer- 
ence on  my  case  is  to  hand  this  morning,  and  I  must  confess 
it  has  caused  me  very  considerable  surprise.  Looking  at  it 
merely  as  affecting  my  personal  comfort  I  make  no  complaint, 
as  a  year  or  two's  respite  from  the  anxious  toil  I  have  been 
engaged  in  of  late,  will  be  welcome  to  both  body  and  mind. 
But  regarding  it  as  the  wish  of  the  Conference  that  I  should 
cease  from  a  path  of  labour  to  which  it  first  appointed  me,  and 
which  has  been  so  signally  owned  of  God,  and  so  constantly 
eulogised  by  the  wisest  and  best  men  in  the  Connexion,  is  to 
me  a  matter  of  gravest  import. 

"  And  further,  sir,  no  reasons  are  assigned  for  this  desired 
change.  The  Conference,  I  am  sure,  would  not  act  without 
reasons,  and  surely  my  brethren  deem  me  worthy  to  be  made 
acquainted  with  them. 

"  Does  the  Conference  take  exception  to  the  character  of  my 
19 


1857, 
Age  28. 


Take  a 
circuit. 


The  Sec- 
retary's 
letter. 


Mr. 
Booth's 
rejjly. 


No 
reasons 
given. 


290  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1857,  mission  altogether,  or  is  it  the  manner  in  which  I  have  dis- 
Age  28.  charged  it  during  the  past  year  that  has  given  offence?  If  the 
former,  I  have  nothing  to  say,  but  if  fault  has  been  found  with 
anything  I  have  said  or  done,  I  claim  the  privilege  of  self-de- 
fence. Surely  in  the  New  Connexion  Conference  flying  re- 
ports are  not  permitted  to  find  utterance,  and  speeches  un- 
favourably affecting  character  are  not  listened  to,  without 
giving  the  defamed  an  opportunity  of  defending  himself. 
A  "  So  conscious  was  I  of  the  integrity  of  my  motives,  utter- 

siirprise.  ^^^q^^  ^^^  actions,  so  satisfied  was  I  that  the  bulk  of  the  Church 
was  with  me,  and  so  certain  did  I  feel  that  I  was  taking  the 
surest  course  to  promote  the  highest  interests  of  the  Connex- 
ion, that  in  looking  forward  to  the  Conference  I  never  dreamed 
it  would  for  a  moment  entertain  the  proposition  which  you 
forward  to  me  as  its  prayerful  and  deliberate  decision. 
The  ap-  "  During  the  two  and  a  half  years  that  I  have  travelled  as  an 
'^^°fhe  Evangelist  my  opinions  have  undergone  no  change;  they 
churches,  have  ever  been  outspoken.  During  that  time  every  church 
with  which  I  have  laboured  has  expressed  most  publicly  and 
unanimously  its  approbation  of  my  labours.  With  two  excep- 
tions, the  ministers  have  been  as  friendly  and  cordial  as  the 
laymen.  During  this  time  no  individual  has  met  me  with  an 
accusation,  or  made  any  objection  to  my  measures  in  the 
prayer  meeting,  or  to  my  utterances  on  the  platform  and  in  the 
A  strange  pulpit.  It  seems  strange  that  after  such  uniform  approbation 
course.  Qf  j-j^y  mission,  and  method  of  discharging  it,  that  the  Confer- 
ence should  be  five  hours  debating  the  propriety  of  its  con- 
tinuance. You  say  in  yours  that  the  value  of  my  special 
labors  have  been  'fully  and  gratefully  acknowledged,'  but 
that  looking  at  the  subject  in  all  its  important  bearings  it  is 
deemed  best,  on  the  whole,  that  for  the  present  I  receive  the 
appointment  of  a  regular  circuit.  Now,  all  I  ask,  nay  claim 
as  my  due,  is  to  know  what  these  important  bearings  are  for 
which  my  special  labours,  acknowledged  to  be  of  value,  are 
to  be  discontinued. 

"  Believe  me,  to  remain,  dear  sir, 

"  Yours  very  respectfully, 

"  William  Booth." 

In  a  letter  written  at  the  same  time  to  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
Mumford,  Mr.  Booth  says; 


THE   CONFERENCE  OF  1S57. 


291 


"  You  will  have  been  expecting  a  line  from  us  containing 
Conference  information,  and  now  that  our  suspense  is  ended 
in  certainty,  or  nearly  so,  I  take  the  first  opportunity  of  send- 
ing you  a  line.  For  some  time  I  have  been  aware  that  a  party 
has  been  forming  against  me.  Now  it  has  developed  itself 
and  its  purpose.  It  has  attacked  and  defeated  my  friends, 
and  my  evangelistic  mission  is  to  come  to  an  immediate  con- 
clusion. On  Saturday,  aftei  a  debate  of  five  hours,  in  which  I 
am  informed  the  bitterest  spirit  was  manifested  against  me, 
it  was  decided  by  44  to  40  that  I  be  appointed  to  a  circuit. 
The  chief  opponents  to  my  continuance  in  my  present  course 
are  ministers,  the  opposition  being  led  on  by  the  Rev.  P.  J. 
Wright  and  Dr.  Crofts. 

"  I  care  not  so  much  for  myself.  A  year's  rest  will  be  very 
acceptable.  By  that  time,  God  will,  I  trust,  make  plain  my 
way  before  me,  either  to  abide  as  a  circuit  preacher,  or  by 
opening  me  a  door  which  no  man  or  number  of  men  shall  be 
able  to  shut.  My  concern  is  for  the  Connexion — my  deep 
regret  is  for  the  spirit  this  makes  manifest,  and  the  base  in- 
gratitude it  displays.  However,  I  leave  the  matter  with  the 
Lord.  My  work  and  my  reputation  are  in  His  hands.  I  wait 
the  manifestation  of  His  will,  and  wherever  He  points  there 
will  I  try  to  go." 

Mrs.  Booth,  however,  did  not  take  so  calm  a  view, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  letters  addressed  to 
her  mother: 

"  You  will  see  from  William's  letter  what  has  been  the  sub 
ject  of  our  thoughts,  and  the  cause  of  the  anxiety  we  have  ex- 
perienced during  the  last  few  days.     I  have  felt  it  far  more 
keenly  than  I  thought  I  should ;  in  fact,  it  is  the  first  real  trial 
of  my  married  life. 

"  Personally  considered  I  care  nothing  about  it.  I  feel  that 
a  year's  rest  in  one  place  will  be  a  boon  to  us  both,  and  espe- 
cially a  relief  from  the  wearying  anxiety  which  my  dear 
husband  has  experienced  of  late.  But  as  a  manifestation  of  the 
spirit  of  a  handful  of  ministers  towards  him  in  return  for  his 
toil — as  an  exhibition  of  the  cloven  foot  of  jealousy,  and  as 
a  piece  of  rank  injustice  in  allowing  lying  reports  to  be  reiter- 
ated in  open  Conference,  and  this  without  any  formal  charges 
having  been  brought  or  any  inquiry  as  to  their  truthfulness 


1857, 
Age  28. 

How  it 

hap- 
pened. 


The 
ground 
for  his 
regret. 


Mrs. 
Booth 
feels  it 
keenly. 


Her  in 

digna- 

tion. 


292 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28. 


A  sug- 
gested 
com- 
piomise. 


The  ques- 
tion of 
traveUing 
expenses. 


instituted,  I  regard  as  little  better  than  an  old  priestly  persecu- 
tion over  again,  and  am  ready  to  forswear  Conferences  for 
ever!  However,  we  shall  see.  We  can  afford  to  wait.  A 
year's  rest  will  be  an  advantage  to  William's  mind  and  body. 
Time  will  do  great  things — the  people  will  be  able  to  look  at 
and  contrast  the  year's  returns.  Our  friends,  whom  this  dis- 
cussion has  proved  to  be  neither  few  nor  feeble,  will  spread 
their  own  report  of  the  matter,  and  perhaps  next  Conference 
the  trumpet  will  sound  on  the  ot/ier  side.  Anyhow,  if  God 
wills  him  to  be  an  evangelist.  He  will  open  up  his  way.  I 
find  that  I  love  the  work  itself  far  more  than  I  thought  I  did, 
and  I  am  willing  to  risk  something  for  it,  but  we  shall  see." 

Writing  again  next  day,  Mrs.  Booth  says : 

"  Doubtless  you  will  feel  anxious  to  hear  further  particulars 
after  yesterday's  budget.  This  morning's  post  brought  us 
several  letters  from  Conference,  causing  lis  considerable  ex- 
citement and  anxiety.  It  appears  tlaat  the  conduct  of  Mr.  P.  J. 
Wright  and  others  towards  my  dear  husband  has  evoked  a  very' 
strong  feeling  against  them,  and  numerous  voices  of  dissatis- 
faction have  been  raised  as  to  the  manner  in  which  our  mis- 
sion has  been  put  down,  and  the  way  in  whieh  the  votes  were ' 
taken.  There  is  to  be  an  attempt  this  morning  at  a  compro- 
mise ;  to  send  him  to  a  circuit  and  yet  let  him  visit  several 
places  during  the  year,  sending  a  supply  to  act  for  him,  but 
William  will  not  agree  to  it.  He  will  be  either  one  thing  or 
the  other,  and  if  unworthy  to  be  an  evangelist  altogether,  he 
declines  to  take  the  anxiety  and  responsibility  of  being  one 
at  all. 

"  It  appears  that  one  of  his  opponents  mooted  the  travel- 
ling expenses  as  an  argument  against  him,  and  made  some 
false  statements  which  Mr.  Bates  has  compelled  him  to  re- 
tract. Hereupon  Mr.  Woods,  the  old  gentleman  you  heard 
me  talk  about,  and  who  was  so  kind  to  us  at  Nottingham,  has 
instructed  the  delegate  for  Nottingham  to  inform  Conference 
to-day  that  if  it  is  a  money  question  he  will  guarantee  ,£50  for 
the  next  year's  travelling  expenses — a  larger  sum  than  all 
our  present  year's  expenses  put  together.  He  is  a  noble  old 
gentleman.  I  always  believed  in  him  from  our  first  interview, 
I  wrote  to  him  last  night  myself,  William  being  too  much 
pressed  for  time. 


THE  CONFERENCE  OF  1857. 


293 


"  William  has  asked  for  Derby  as  an  appointment.  To  this 
his  opponents  are  not  likely  to  agree,  for  though  it  is  one 
of  the  poorest  places  in  the  Connexion,  it  has  only  one 
preacher,  and  therefore  no  superintendent  to  shackle  him. 
Mr.  Bates  wanted  them  to  send  for  him  yesterday  to  speak 
for  himself,  bi:t,  no  thank  you!  They  have  no  desire  to 
measure  swords  with  him !  I  must  say  I  feel  intensely  an- 
xious. Great  interests  are  involved — far  more  than  are  seen 
at  first  sight,  but  it  is  God's  cause.  I  believe  He  will  order 
all  for  the  best.  I  have  no  fears  for  the  future.  I  have  con- 
fidence in  my  husband's  devotion  and  capacity  for  something 
greater  yet,  and  I  have  confidence  in  God's  over-ruling  Provi- 
dence. Pray  for  us  that  we  may  not  err,  but  be  guided  into 
His  perfect  will." 

"June  loth. 
"  Yours  came  to  hand  this  morning.  Thanks  for  all  your 
sympathy  and  counsel.  It  is  very  seasonable.  William  has 
just  returned  from  Nottingham.  The  arrangement  that  we 
take  a  circuit  stands  good,  and  perhaps,  all  things  considered, 
it  is  best  for  one  year.  There  seems  a  firm  determination 
that  it  shall  not  be  for  longer.  Our  appointment  is  to  Halifax 
circuit,  and  wafare  to  live  at  Brighouse." 


1857, 
Age  28. 


Ap2ooint- 
ed  to 
Brig- 
house, 


Among  the  additional  reasons  urged  for  this  deci- 
sion besides  those  vv^hich  have  been  already  noticed, 
one  was  that  Mr.  Booth  was  gaining  too  great  an 
influence  in  the  Connexion  for  so  young  and  untried 
a  man.  Another  was  that  the  following  Conference 
would  be  called  upon  to  decide  as  to  his  capacity  for 
doing  the  work  of  a  regular  circuit  preacher,  and  how 
could  they  come  to  a  just  conclusion  concerning  him 
unless  he  went  through  the  ordinary  routine?  All 
combined  in  holding  out  the  most  absolute  certainty 
of  his  being  recalled  to  the  evangelistic  sphere  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  year.  Mrs.  Booth,  however, 
doubted  the  sincerity  of  the  promise. 

"I  felt  in  my  soul,"  she  tells  us,  referring  to  the 
matter  at  a  much  later  period,  "  that  it  was  the  spirit 


Further 
reasons. 


The 
promise 
of  a  re- 
call. 


Mrs. 
Booth^s 
fears. 


294  MJ^S.   BOOTH. 

1857,  of  envy  which  had  closed  the  sphere,  and  I  could  not 
^^  ^  ■  but  anticipate  that  the  same  spirit  would  keep  it 
closed  so  far  as  the  Connexion  was  concerned.  I 
knew  too  much  of  Church  history  to  expect  that  a 
denomination,  sunk  into  stereotyped  forms,  would 
ever  be  wise  enough  to  see  the  grandeur  of  such  an 
opportunity  for  getting  out  of  its  swaddling  bands 
and  becoming  a  great  national  movement,  instead  of 
remaining  a  little  sectarian  concern.  They  neither 
had  the  wit  to  see  their  chance,  nor  to  estimate  the 
qualities  of  the  agent  whom  God's  Providence  had 
thrown  across  their  path. 
A  vision  "  That  momiug  as  I  lay  in  bed,  for  I  was  too  ill  to 
future,  leave  the  room,  there  dawned  upon  me  a  vision  of 
success,  which  has  been  marvellously  realised  in  later 
years.  And  I  could  have  risen  from  my  couch,  bid 
good-bye  to  the  Connexion,  and  walked  out  with  my 
husband  into  the  wide  world  without  a  fear.  But  I 
could  not  make  the  General  see  with  me^  He  believed 
in  his  simplicity  that  this  clique  of  ministers  would 
repent  of  their  action  and  that  Conference  would  re- 
call him  to  the  work  at  the  end  of  the  year.  He 
Mr.  Booth  replied  to  my  arguments  that  he  loved  the  Connexion, 

loved  the  ^  ^        ^ 

Connex-  that  he  had  been  useful  in  it,  that  he  wished  to  live, 
and  labour,  and  die  in  it,  and  that  he  hoped  yet  to  be 
the  means  of  helping  to  build  it  up  and  make  it  a 
great  power  in  the  world.  A  year,  he  urged,  would 
soon  fly  away,  and  it  was  possible  that  he  might  com- 
pletely regain  the  confidence  of  his  ministerial  breth- 
ren by  thus  submitting  to  their  wishes.  I  predicted 
that  such  would  not  be  the  case,  and  my  forecast 
proved  in  the  end  to  be  correct.  For  the  time  being, 
however,  I  acquiesced  in  his  decision,  and  we  packed 
up  as  quickly  as  possible  and  removed  to  our  new 
home." 


ion. 


THE  CONFERENCE  OF  1857. 


295 


Among  his   numerous  friends  were   n°t  ^■^"''"g 
thos^who  had  less  respect  for  authority  than   Mr, 
Booth,  and  who  urged  him  to  break  loose  frorn  th 
Connexion,    rather   than   submit   to   their    de.s.on. 
From  one  such  he  received  the  following  letter. 

••  I  feel  much  concerned  on  your  account,  for  it  is  not  possi- 

God  and  -iswherever  you  find  an  open  doo.  ^^^  ^^^^^^^^ 
cJnlTeLetard  to  -aTM:.  clu^Jy,   and  fiad  he  con- 

^:ntdT;.e  a  ^^  ^^^^:^:^i^i:z 

::t  IrtheTcSlhr  do!:  al^st  M™.     But  an  the 
'harm  .h!   actli^  was  to  enlarge  his  heart,  and  to  cause  him  to 
en™   nto  other  chapels  besides  those  of  Wesleyans. 
'"m;  opinion  is  that  if  you  resolve  to  follow  the  Lord  fully 
you  will  have  to  pass  through  the  -me  ordea       I  behe^e  tto^ 
L  far  as  the  preachers  have  power,  they  will  close  the  JNew 

Colnexln^'lpits  against  you^   ,«""- f^J '^:  T^ 
i„  every  Conference,  whether  Episcopalian    Wesley  n  New 
ronnexion  Primitive  or  Quaker.     And  tne  oniy  w<i> 
men  Is  you  and  Caughey  to  escape  the  mental  rack  and  hand 
^,ff.  is  to  take  out  a  license  to  hawk  salvation  from  the  great 
Ma^istrlte  *ove.  and  absolutely  refuse  to  have  any  other 

"" 'oBrother  Booth,  if  I  could  preach  and  floor  the  sinners 
„ke°you  can,  I  would  not  thank  Queen  Victoria  to  he  ^y  aunt 

::reTrur2":.inh°:r:ts\ir:;^homihaveread, 

Ca'gh'ey  excepted,  who  has  eqnaUed  you  ,r  —  -.  eoii- 
sidering  the  short  time  you  have  been  at  it.  Ana  10  y 
Iw  the  decrees  of  the  New  Connexion  Confer^nc  ^  or  o^ 
any  other  conclave  of  men,  to  turn  you  -"^  «'°^j°^'°*;",| 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  what  I  ''^"'"°\°ff'° 
ZH.     I  know  what  you  feel   and  f  also,  have  shed   he  big 

-?at^\?t:'o:d"?aifn:wAtnd?:inkeep  so.     Vou 


1857. 

Age  28. 

Conflict- 
ing coun- 
sels. 


A  hearty 
tribute. 


296 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28. 


Why  he 

would  not 

do  it. 


The  value 
of  organ- 
isation. 


Creating 
a  new 
people. 


The  ne- 
cessity for 
organised 
effort. 


know  what  the  wolf  said  to  Towser,  'Half  a  meal  with  liberty 
is  better  than  a  whole  one  without  it!' 
"  With  love  to  Mrs.  Booth, 

"  I  remain  yours  as  square  as  a  brick." 

But  Mr.  Booth  saw  what  his  friend  did  not:  that 
the  weak  point  of  evangelistic  efforts  such  as  those  of 
Mr,  Caughey  was  the  want  of  connexion  with  some 
suitable  organisation  which  would  give  cohesion  and 
continuity  to  the  work.  His  evangelistic  experience 
had  taught  him  that  some  storage  was  necessary  for 
the  Divine  floods  of  influence  and  salvation  that  de- 
scended in  such  abundant  measure  at  these  times,  in 
order  to  prevent  them  from  evaporating,  disappearing, 
and  being  worse  than  lost.  He  was  disappointed  and 
perplexed,  it  was  true.  The  New  Connexion  had 
promised  to  be  just  such  a  reservoir  as  he  had  desired. 
He  loved  it.  He  had  labored  for  it.  And  visions  of 
the  world-wide  organisation  it  might  yet  become  had 
inspired  his  heart.  He  could  not  believe  that  he  was 
to  be  disappointed,  nor  was  there  another  people  to 
whom  he  could  turn. 

The  daring  idea  of  creating  a  people  for  himself 
had  not  yet  dawned  upon  his  mind.  The  time  for  it 
had  not  perhaps  come.  The  requisite  experience  had 
not  been  gained.  The  profound  despair  with  what 
existed  had  not  yet  sufficiently  taken  possession  of  his 
soul  to  induce  him  to  try  his  hand  at  anything  better. 
But  the  necessity  of  organised  and  united  effort,  as 
distinguished  from  the  minister-do-everything  plan, 
was  a  conviction  of  his  soul.  Never  in  his  grandest 
moments  of  success  had  he  felt  that  he  could  dispense 
with  the  service  and  assistance  of  others.  His  con- 
stant complaint  had  been  that  he  could  not  lay  violent 
hands  upon  a  sufficient  number  of  qualified  persons 
to  help  him  at  such  times,  but  those  whom  he  could 


THE   CONFERENCE   OF  1857.  297 

command  he  had  gathered  behind   the  communion      1857, 
rails  to  form  a  praying  band,  or  to  deal  with  the  pen- 
itents, or  had  sent  them  out  singing  into  the  streets, 
or  visiting  from  house  to  house. 

The  idea  of  a  church  in  which  he  was  to  be  head    His  plan 

of  cam- 

and  tail,  centre  and  circumference,  alpha  and  omega,  paign. 
beginning  and  end,  was  foreign  to  his  idea.  It  might 
suit  his  less  disciplined  friends,  but  for  his  part  he  so 
realised  the  value  of  law  and  order  that  he  would 
rather  submit  to  a  wrong  order  occasionally  than  have 
no  order  at  all.  He  would  rather  obey  an  envious 
head  than  have  none,  and  rather  co-operate  with  jeal- 
ous brethren  than  stand  alone.  He  only  aspired  to 
serve,  providing  he  could  serve  successfully. 

Mrs.  Booth,  as  we  have  seen,  was  more  of  a  radical.    The  Wes- 
She  had  weighed  up  the  Conference  and  had  found  it   whUfieid 
wanting.      Her  inclination  would  have  led  her  rather     '^day*! 
to  have  chosen  a  lonely  path  than  to  have  submitted 
to  a  restricted    one.      Unlinked    to   Mr.    Booth,    she 
would  doubtless  have  been  more  of  a  free-lance  Whit- 
field than   an   organising  Wesley.      It  was  a  happy 
design  of  Providence  which  bound  the  Wesley  and 
the  Whitfield  of  the  present  generation  in  so  close 
and  indissoluble  a  union.     For  the  present,  however, 
the  die  was  cast,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  proceeded 
to  take  up  their  appointment  at  Brighouse. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
BRIGHOUSE.      1857-1858. 
A  gloomy       The  year  spent  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  at  Brighouse 

Stetson 

was,  perhaps,  the  saddest  and  most  discouraging  of 
their  whole  ministerial  career.  In  fact,  there  was 
scarcely  a  single  circumstance  to  relieve  the  gloom  of 
the  situation.  In  the  first  place,  they  started  with 
heavy  hearts,  feeling  that  they  had  been  unjustly 
dealt  with.  Nor  was  there  anything  in  the  appoint- 
ment itself  calculated  to  compensate  for  the  disap- 
pointment. The  superintendent  was  a  sombre,  fune- 
real kind  of  being,  very  well-meaning  no  doubt,  but 
utterly  incapable  of  co-operating  with  Mr.  Booth  in 
his  ardent  views  and  plans  for  the  salvation  of  the 
*  people. 
No  For  Mrs.  Booth   the  situation  was  peculiarly  pain- 

kmared      »    ,        01  i  ^    r- 

spirit.  ful.  She  had  not  in  Brighouse  a  single  lady  friend 
with  whom  she  could  have  sympathetic  communion. 
Moroever,  it  was  peculiarly  trying  to  see  her  husband 
spending  and  being  spent  on  a  small  and  struggling 
cause,  when  the  same  amount  of  effort  might  have 
resulted  in  the  attraction  of  enormous  crowds  and  in 
the  salvation  of  hundreds  of  souls,  had  they  pursued 
their  evangelistic  career.  She  writes  the  following 
letter  to  her  mother  soon  after  her  arrival : 

"July,  1857. 
The  first        "  William  preached  here  twice  yesterday  and  led  a  love- 
meetings.     feast.     Good  congregations,  and  all  seemed  very  well  satisfied 
except  himself.     There  were  three  souls  at  night.     Of  course 

298 


BRIGHOUSE.  299 

he  cannot  help  making  comparisons  between  this  and  his  1857, 
former  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  though  this  is  unquestionably  ^^^  ^8. 
much  easier,  //  is  far  less  congenial.  I  don't  think  he  will 
ever  feel  right  in  it,  neither  do  I  believe  the  Lord  intends  that 
he  should.  He  generally  adapts  His  instruments  to  the  work 
He  marks  out  for  them,  and  He  has  undoubtedly  adapted  my 
dear  husband  for  something  very  different  to  this.  But  we 
will  wait  awhile. 

"  I  can't  say  I  like  the  place.  It  is  a  low,  smoky  town,  and 
we  are  situated  in  the  worst  part  of  it.  However,  we  shall 
make  the  best  of  it." 

There  was,  however,  a  domestic  event  which  served   The  hhth 
perhaps,  more   than   anything,  to   brighten   the    dull  %diiing- 
tedium  of  the  Brighouse  days.     They  had  scarcely       ^""" 
settled  in  their  new  home  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth 
received  for  a  second  time,  in  the  birth  of  their  son 
Ballington,  the  peculiar  token  of  Divine  favour  which 
only  a  parent's  heart  can  fully  appreciate.     It  was 
indeed  as  a  Gilead-balm    to  their  wounded    spirits, 
cementing  freshly  the  domestic  bliss  of  their  union, 
which  seemed  but  the  brighter  in  contrast  with  the 
present  gloom  of  the  outward  prospect.     How  much 
greater  would  have  been  their  joy  could  they  have 
anticipated  the  still  distant  and  uncertain  future ! 

The  history  of  the  Salvation  Army  has  been  largely     j^j^^  f^j^_ 
the  history  of  its  founders  and  of  their  family.     It    toryofa 

■'  -^  family. 

presents  the  altogether  unique  spectacle  of  a  great 
religious  organisation  that  has  attained  to  world-wide 
proportions,  of  which  the  embryonic  germ  was  con- 
tained within  the  four  corners  of  a  family,  long  before 
it  had  burst  into  public  notoriety.  The  earliest,  and, 
to  this  day,  among  the  most  effective  of  General 
Booth's  recruits,  have  been  his  own  children.  He  The  Gen- 
wished,  at  first,  that  they  had  been  less  numerous,  first  re- 
but  when  they  came  to  take  their  places  in  helping 
him  to  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  he  was 


500 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28. 


A  super- 
ficial 
criticism. 


Israel  a 
family 
affair. 


The 
Quakers. 


only  sorry,  he  tells  us,  that  "  instead  of  eight  there 
were  not  eighty!"  Trained  from  childhood  to  obey, 
in  an  age  whose  tendency  is  to  overleap  the  traces  of 
parental  authority,  they  have  formed  a  valuable  nu- 
cleus, round  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  have  been 
able  to  gather  their  recruits.  Inspired  from  infancy 
with  the  passion  for  souls  which  animated  their  pa- 
rents, they  have  constituted  an  object-lesson  to  all 
who  have  since  joined  them  beneath  the  Salvation 
Army  flag. 

It  is  true  there  are  some,  who  are  so  difficult  to 
please  and  ready  to  find  fault,  that  they  raise  objec- 
tions to  what  is  at  once  the  strength  and  glory  of  the 
movement,  complaining  that  undue  prominence  has 
been  given  to  the  members  of  the  family.  But  it  is 
a  singular  fact  that  those  who  hold  this  opinion  are 
usually  those  who  are  the  least  acquainted  with  them, 
and  who  therefore  speak  on  such  superficial  grounds 
that  their  opinion  is  entitled  to  but  little  weight. 
They  forget  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  Abra- 
ham became  the  recipient  of  the  Divine  promises  was 
the  knowledge  that  he  would  "command  his  house," 
and  that  Eli  became  the  object  of  a  special  curse  for 
his  laxity  in  this  respect.  The  whole  house  of  Israel 
was,  after  all,  in  a  far  stricter  sense,  a  "  family  affair." 
The  priestly  house  of  Levi  was  the  same.  The  Bible 
abounds  with  examples  of  a  similar  character,  and 
contains  numberless  commands  and  promises  to  pa- 
rents regarding  the  training  of  their  children,  and 
the  rewards  that  should  accompany  obedience.  Their 
"  sons"  and  their  "  daughters"  were  to  prophesy,  as  in 
the  case  of  Philip  the  Evangelist. 

In  modern  days  the  history  of  the  Quakers  has 
furnished  most  remarkable  instances  of  a  heredity  of 
holiness  running  through  many  generations  and  ex- 


BRIG  HOUSE.  301 

tending  over  a  period  of  two  hundred  years.     Indeed,     ^1^57.^ 
had  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  failed  in  this  respect,  it  is 
probable  that  such  critics  would  have  been  the  first    irjoM/ 
to  point  the  finger  of  scorn.     But  because  they  have     foMcdf 
succeeded  to  so  marvellous  a  degree  in  persuading 
their  children  to  forego  the  pleasures  and  emoluments 
of  the  world, when  to  do  so  has  meant  shame,  reproach, 
and  suffering,   some  must  needs  cavil.      Truly  the 
mysteries  of  criticism  are  unfathomable  and  its  ways 

past  finding  out!  •       .  rr 

"I  will  not  have  a  wicked  child,"  was  the  passionate   ^J^^ 

and  oft-repeated  declaration  of  Mrs.  Booth,  who  used      ation 
to  pray  in  the  very  presence  of  her  children  that  she       ^^^^ 
might  rather  have  to  lay  them  in  an  early  grave  than    Termer. 
to  mourn  over  one  who   had  deserted  the   path  of 
righteousness.     Her  petition  was  more  than  granted, 
and  she  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  all  fully 
consecrated  to  God's  service.     Indeed,  it  was  one  of 
the  peculiar  powers  of  Mrs.  Booth's  ministry  that  she  ^^^ 
could  drive  home  her  appeals  to  others  by  pointing  to    ^,.„^,.„„. 
the  example  of  her  own  family.     The  argument  was 
unanswerable.     She  was  able  to  show  that  it  was  no 
mere  accident  of  nature  or  of  circumstance  that  made 
them  differ  so  widely  from  others,  but  that  by  the 
proper   use   of    the    necessary   means   others   might 
achieve  what  she  had  herself  accomplished. 

It  is  said  of  the  celebrated  violinist,  Paganini,  that  'n.e ^, 
he  could  draw  more  music  out  of  one  string  than  mm. 
others  could  out  of  five.  But  the  monotone  of  the 
one  could  not,  after  all,  have  equalled  in  the  master  s 
hand  the  harmony  of  the  five,  and  its  music  would 
have  been  altogether  marred  had  the  remaining  chords 
been  out  of  tune.  Indeed  the  discord  would  have 
been  too  painful  to  have  been  endured.  And  is  it 
not  so  with  the  family?     How  often  is  the  domestic 


302  MRS.  BOOTH. 

1857,      harmony  jarred  by  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the 

^^  ^  ■    strings  are  out  of  tune.     True  that  one  string  is  better 

Domestic    than  none,  and  in  some  instances  one  string  is  all  that 

harmomj.   ^^^  ^^  gained.      But  surely  this  renders  only  the  more 

striking  and  delightful  the  music  of  a  family  of  which 

each  member  is  harmoniously  attuned  to  the  service 

of  God.     Verily,  it  is  one  of  the  divinest  spectacles 

under  Heaven,  and  one  of  the  grandest  trophies  of 

redeeming  grace!     In  dealing  with  this  subject  Mrs, 

Booth  has  remarked : 

Putting         "  'They  have  put  their  children  into  the  movement,'  people 
then-  chil-   ^^        Yes,  bless  God!  And  if  we  had  twenty,  we  would  do  so. 

dren  in.  ■'  ■' 

But  I  stand  here  before  God,  and  say  that  it  is  all   from   the 

same  motive  and  for  the  same  end — the  seeking  and  saving  of 

the  lost.     But  I  ask,  How  comes  it  to  pass  that  these  children 

all  grow  up  with  this  one  ambition  and  desire?    Is  not  this  the 

v,^.  finger  of  God?     Some  of  our  critics  don't  find  it  so  easy  to 

eas]i.       ////their  children  where  they  want  them  to  be!     Could  all  the 

powers  of  earth  give  these  young  men  and  women  the  sj>irit  of 

this  work,  apart  from  God?     Some  of  you  know  the  life  of 

toil,    self-sacrifice,    and   devotion   this   work    entails.     What 

could   bring   our   children   to    embrace   it   without   a   single 

human  inducement  such  as  influences  other  young  people  the 

world   over?    As   spirits   are  not   finely  touched  but  to  fine 

issues,  so  surely  God  hath  fashioned  their  souls  for  the  work 

He  wants  them  to  do ;  and  though  all  the  mother  in  me  often 

cries,  'vSpare  them!'  my  soul  magnifies  the  Lord,  because  He 

hath  counted  me  worthy  of  such  honour." 

^^'■s-  In  spite  of  its  numerous  drawbacks,  the  prolonged 

Booth  ^  .  . 

lends  a     stay   in   Brighouse  was   not  without   its  advantages. 

The  .short  time  they  were  able  to  spend  in  the  places 
visited  during  their  evangelistic  tours,  had  afforded 
Mrs.  Booth  but  little  scope  for  the  exercise  of  her  tal- 
ents. Now,  however,  that  they  were  settled  down  for 
a  year  in  a  circuit,  one  of  the  first  announcements 
made  by  Mr.  Booth  to  his  office-bearers  was  that  Mrs. 


BRIGHOUSE. 


303 


Booth  would  shortly  take  the  leadership  of  a  class 
among  the  female  members  who  attended  the  chapel 
in  Brighouse,  and  would  also  teach  some  of  the  girls 
belonging  to  the  Sunday-school. 

She  describes  her  first  meeting  with  the  latter  as 
follows : 


1857, 
Age  28. 


"  I  commenced  teaching  a  class  of  girls  on  Sunday  after- 
noon in  our  own  back  parlour.  I  had  a  dozen  selected  out  of 
the  Sunday-school  for  that  purpose,  the  room  being  too  close 
for  me  to  go  there.  I  got  on  well,  and  the  children  seemed 
very  pleased.  I  am  to  have  another  girl  on  Sunday  next— one 
who  has  pleaded  very  hard  to  come.  So  you  may  picture 
me  on  Sunday  afternoons  from  two  o'clock  to  half-past  three 
surrounded  by  thirteen  girls,  striving  to  sow  the  seeds  of 
eternal  truth  in  their  hearts  and  minds.  Pray  for  my  success. 
T  feel  as  though  I  am  doing  a  little  now,  but  oh,  I  want  more 
grace  !     Gifts  are  not  graces.     Pray  for  me  !  " 


The  Sun- 

(laij- 
Schnol. 


She  refers  to  her  commencement  with  the  senior 
.class  in  the  following  letter: 

"  I  begin  my  duties  as  a  class-leader  next  Thursday  after- 
noon. Do  remember  it  in  prayer  and  meet  me  in  spirit,  and 
ask  wisdom  and  grace  according  to  my  great  necessity.  It 
is  an  old  established  class,  containing  twenty-nine  members, 
many  of  them  elderly  people.  It  is  against  my  judgment  and 
inclination.  I  wanted  a  new  one  consisting  of  young  people. 
But  this  class  is  distressed  for  want  of  a  leader,  and  nothing 
would  do  but  that  I  must  take  it.  So  William  introduced  me 
to  them  last  Thursday,  and  led  it  for  me  for  the  first  time.  I 
spoke  and  prayed  and  felt  it  good,  but  it  seemed  rather  new 
to  me,  after  so  long  an  interval.  I  don't  know  how  I  shall 
get  on.  I  don't  fear  anything  but  lack  of  spiritual  power.  It 
will  be  a  beginning,  and  perhaps  I  shall  gain  confidence  to 
undertake  something  more  important  in  another  circuit." 

Writing  a  few  days  later  Mrs.  Booth  says: 

"  I  met  my  class  yesterday  for  the  first  time,  and  got  on 
better   than  I  expected.     There  were  twenty-two  members 


Her 

senior 
class. 


Her  first 

class- 
meeting. 


304 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1857, 
Age  28. 


Plough- 
ing on  a 
rock. 


Pining 

for  a 

revival. 


present.  I  felt  it  to  be  a  good  time,  and  so  I  think  did  they, 
at  least  I  heard  some  expressions  of  satisfaction  and  pleasure. 
I  felt  very  tremulous  at  first,  but  gained  confidence  and  free- 
dom as  I  went  on.  I  feel  a  good  deal  exhausted,  but  other- 
wise no  worse. 

A  little  later  Mr.  Booth  sends  a  further  account  of 
these  meetings: 

"  Kate  had  a  very  good  class  yesterday  afternoon,  twenty- 
three  present  and  all  full  of  glory.  The  people  speak  very 
highly  of  her.  She  seems  to  be  far  more  successful  in  pleas- 
ing the  folks  than  poor  me.  It  has  been  very  hard  work,  but 
I  have  managed  so  far,  and  I  shall  go  on  until  Conference. 
Labour  in  this  circuit  is  the  most  like  ploughing  on  a  rock  of 
anything  I  ever  experienced  in  my  life.  I  concluded  the 
special  services  on  Monday  night.  They  are  the  most  im- 
pregnable people  I  ever  attempted  to  impress.  The  last  night 
was,  however,  a  good  one.  We  took  twenty-six  names,  some 
of  them  very  good  cases,  making  about  120  during  the  ser- 
vices. 

"  Since  then  for  three  nights  I  have  been  preaching  in  a  small 
village  about  two  miles  from  here.  We  have  had  good  con- 
gregations and  have  taken  above  thirty  names.  However,  I 
am, after  all,  only  happy  in  a  flood-tide  of  salvation,  and  I  fancy 
I  am  best  adapted  to  serve  God,  the  church,  and  my  genera- 
tion as  an  evangelist.  I  wish  I  was  independent  of  all  con- 
claves, councils,  synods,  and  conferences.  I  would  then 
evangelise  after  my  own  heart's  plan  and  to  my  heart's  con- 
tent." 


Mrs. 
BooWs 
first  pub- 
lic  effort. 


The  tem- 
perance 
question. 


If,  however,  Brighouse  had  been  remarkable  for 
nothing  else,  it  would  have  been  memorable  as  the 
place  where  Mrs.  Booth  made  her  first  public  effort. 
As  early  as  January,  1857,  the  idea  had  occurred  to 
Mr.  Booth  that  Mrs.  Booth,  being  so  deeply  interested 
in  the  temperance  question,  might  with  advantage 
to  the  work  give  a  series  of  lectures.  He  was  quite 
certain  that  she  possessed  the  requisite  ability,  the 
only  question  being  as  to  whether  she  could  sufficiently 


BRIG  HOUSE.  305 

overcome  her  constitutional  timidity.     While  in  Brig-    ^1^857,^^ 
house,  however,   an  opportunity  presented  itself  for 
making  an    experiment   in    this   direction   with   the 
Junior  Band  of  Hope  connected  with  the  chapel. 

Referring  to  this  proposal,   Mrs.   Booth  writes  to 
her  father  as  follows : 

"December  7th.  1857. 
"  Thanks  for  your  hints  for  my  meeting.     (Mr.  Muraford    j^^f^'^^_ 
was  himself  a  temperance  lecturer.)     If  I  get  on  well  and  find   ing'of'the 
I  really  possess  any  ability  for  public  speaking,  I  don't  intend     Mure. 
to  finish  with  juveniles.     If  there  is  any  reasonable  hope  of 
success  I  shall  try  at  something  higher.     When  we  were  in     . 
Cornwall,  I  went  to  hear  a  popular  female  lecturer,  and  felt 
much  encouraged  to  make  an  attempt.     If  I  could  do  so,  I 
should  be  able  to  fit  in  with  William's  effort  on  his  evangelis- 
tic tours  nicely.     I  only  wish  I  had  begun  years  ago.     Had  I 
been  fortunate  enough  to  have  been  brought  up  amongst  the 
Primitives,  I  believe  I  should  have  been  preaching  now.     You 
laugh!     But  I  believe  it.     The   cares  of   a  family  and  the 
bothers  of  a  house  now  preclude  any  kind  of  labour  that  re- 
quires much  study,  but  I  don't  think  lecturing  on  temperance 
would  need  much." 

"23d  December,   1857. 
"  I  addressed  the  Band  of  Hope  on  Monday  evening,  and  got     g^^-^g  ^t 
on  far  better  than  I  expected.     Indeed,  I  felt  quite  at  home  on     home^on 
the  platform,  far  more  so  than  I  do  in  the  kitchen !     There  platform. 
were  a  few  adults  present,  and  they  seemed  quite  as  much 
interested  and  pleased  as  the  children.     One  of  them,  Wil- 
liam says,  is  the  most  intelligent  gentleman  in  our  congre- 
gation.    I  got  abundantly  complimented,  and  had  the  most      Abun- 
pleasing   evidence    of  the   gratification   and   delight   of    the     eom2}li- 
children.     Our  next  meeting  is  on  Tuesday,  the  29th.     I  ex-     mented. 
pect  a  large  increase  in  the  attendance.     If  I  get  on  I  shall 
give  a  lecture  to  the  females  of  Brighouse  first,  and  then  to  a 
mixed  audience.     But  I  must  not  be  too  sanguine.     Perhaps 
I  may  lose  my  confidence  next  time.     I  am  so  anxious  to  suc- 
ceed for  the  cause's  sake.     I  hope  my  dear  father  will  not 
forget  his  promise  to  help  me  by  sending  me  some  hints.  4  ;,^„^,j^ 

"  The  coming  week  will  be  a  heavy  one.     We  have  a  tea-       iveek. 


3o6 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


Another 
meeting. 


No  retri- 
butive 
Provi- 
dence. 


The 
training 

of 
children. 


meeting  here  on  Monday,  the  Band  of  Hope  on  Tuesday,  out 
to  spend  the  day  at  Elland  on  Wednesday,  my  class  on 
Thursday,  and  a  tea-meeting  at  Halifax  on  Friday,  to  which 
they  want  me  and  Willie  to  go.  So  you  see  I  shall  be  quite 
busy." 

"  6th  January,  1858. 
"  It  is  my  Band  of  Hope  meeting  to-night,  and  I  have  not 
above  an  hour  to  prepare.  I  did  not  get  on  so  well  last  week, 
because  William  and  Miss  Newbury  were  there,  making  me 
feel  less  self-possessed.  Still,  I  did  not  flounder,  nor  talk 
incoherently.  Miss  Newbury  and  William  both  think  I  ought 
to  be  very  much  encouraged,  but  I  find  it  so  difficult  to 
sufficiently  abstract  myself  from  household  matters  for  the 
necessary  study." 

How  complete  was  their  domestic  happiness  may 
be  judged  from  the  following  letter  of  Mrs.  Booth  to 
her  mother : 

"  The  children  are  well.  They  are  two  beauties.  Oh,  I 
often  feel  as  though  they  cannot  be  mine !  It  seems  too  much 
to  be  true  that  they  should  be  so  healthy,  when  I  am  such  a 
poor  thing !  But  it  appears  as  if  the  Lord  had  ordered  it  so, 
while  many  whom  I  know,  who  are  far  healthier  and  stronger 
than  ourselves,  have  delicate  children.  I  sometimes  think  it 
is  a  kind  of  reward  to  William  for  his  honourable  fidelity  to 
me,  notwithstanding  my  delicate  healt  hand  his  many  tempta- 
tions before  we  were  married.  I  believe  in  a  retributive 
Providence,  and  often  try  to  trace  domestic  misery  to  its 
source,  which  is  doubtless  frequently  to  be  found  in  the  con- 
duct of  men  towards  their  early  loves.  God  visits  for  such 
things  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Bless  the  Lord,  we  are  reaping 
no  such  fruits.  The  curse  of  no  stricken  heart  rests  on  our 
lot,  or  on  our  children,  but  in  peace  and  domestic  happiness 
we  'live  and  love  together. '  '  Praise  God  from  whom  all  bless- 
ings flow!' 

"  Willie  gets  every  day  more  lovable  and  engaging  and 
affectionate.  He  manifests  some  very  pleasing  traits  of  char- 
acter. You  would  love  to  see  him  hug  Ballington  and  offer 
him  a  bit  of  everything  he  has!  He  never  manifests  the 
slightest  jealousy  or  selfishness  towards  him,  but  on  the  con- 


BRIGHOUSE.  307 

trary  he  laughs  and  dances  when  we  caress  baby,  and  when  it  1858, 
cries  he  is  quite  distressed.  I  have  used  him  to  bring  me  the  "£^  ^9- 
footstool  when  I  nurse  baby,  and  now  he  runs  with  it  to  me 
as  soon  as  he  sees  me  take  him  up,  without  waiting  to  be 
asked,  a  piece  of  thoughtfulness  I  seldom  receive  from  older 
heads !  Bless  him !  I  believe  he  will  be  a  thoroughly  noble 
lad,  if  I  can  preserve  him  from  all  evil  influences.  The  Lord 
help  me !  I  have  had  to  whip  him  twice  lately  severely 
for  disobedience,  and  it  has  cost  me  some  tears.  But  it  has 
done  him  good,  and  I  am  reaping  the  reward  already  of  my 
self-sacrifice.  The  Lord  help  me  to  be  faithful  and  firm  as  a 
rock  in  the  path  of  duty  towards  my  children !" 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

BRIGHOUSE.      1858. 


Another 
spinal 
attack. 


Her  plans 
frus- 
trated. 


A 

crippled 

body. 


The  commencement  of  the  new  year  was  darkened 
for  Mrs.  Booth  by  an  exceptional  cloud  of  suffering. 
She  was  threatened  with  a  return  of  the  spinal  malady 
which  had  previously  afflicted  her,  and  entertained 
serious  thoughts  of  placing  herself  under  galvanic 
treatment,  from  which  she  had  formerly  received 
great  benefit. 

"  I  have  only  been  to  chapel  twice  during  the  last 
month,"  she  writes  to  her  mother,  "and  had  to  come 
away  each  time,  once  being  carried  out,  I  was  so  faint 
and  ill.  It  is  the  Band  of  Hope  meeting  to-night,  but 
I  dare  not  go.  I  have  not  been  able  to  attend  it  for 
six  weeks.  So  are  my  plans  frustrated  with  a  be- 
crippled  body !  I  must  say  I  am  almost  weary  of  it,  and 
sometimes  feel  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  children  it 
would  be  nice  to  lay  this  troublesome, crazy  body  down. 

"  William  was  talking  the  other  day  about  the  dif- 
ferent bodies  we  shall  have  after  the  resurrection. 
I  replied  that  I  hoped  so,  for  I  should  never  want  to 
find  mine  any  more.  I  would  leave  it  to  the  worms 
for  an  everlasting  portion,  and  prefer  to  live  without 
one !  It  is  much  harder  to  suffer  than  to  labour,  es- 
pecially when  you  have  so  many  calls  on  your  atten- 
tion. It  is  so  different  lying  ill  in  bed  now,  with  two 
children,  perhaps  one  crying  against  the  other,  to 
what  it  used  to  be  with  no  responsibility  or  care,  and 
a  kind,  loving  mother  to  anticipate  every  want!     But 

308 


BRIGHOUSE.  309 

enough !     The  cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me      1858, 
shall  I  not  drink  it?     Especially  seeing  it  is  so-much       ^^  ^^' 
better  than  I  have  merited." 

In  February,  however,  Mrs.  Booth  had  sufficiently  Mr. 
recovered  to  accompany  her  husband  to  Sheffield,  bc^usVs 
where  it  had  been  arranged  for  the  baby  to  be  bap-  ^"ton,^ 
tised  by  Mr.  Caughey,  who  happened  to  be  visiting 
England  at  the  time.  The  early  and  solemn  dedica- 
tion of  their  children  to  the  service  of  God  had  always 
appeared  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  both  a  duty  and  a 
privilege,  and  although  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was 
afterwards  abandoned  for  reasons  which  are  elsewhere 
explained,  the  obligation  to  publicly  consecrate  them 
to  a  life  of  holiness,  sacrifice,  and  warfare,  was  ad- 
hered to.  Indeed,  some  of  the  most  powerful  and 
successful  meetings  held  in  the  Salvation  Army  are 
those  in  which  parents  dedicate  their  children  to  God, 
the  occasion  being  utilised  for  seeking  the  salvation 
and  sanctification  of  all  present. 

Mrs.  Booth  describes  the  visit  to  Sheffield  and  her 
impressions  of  the  famous  evangelist  in  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

Sheffield,  February. 

"  There  was  a  very  large  meeting  on  Tuesday  night.     Up-       Mrs. 
ward  of  twelve  hundred  sat  down  to  tea.     We  were  at  the   Booth  de- 
same  table  with  Mr.  Caughey,  and  William  had  some  conver-   Caughey. 
sation  with  him.     On  Wednesday  we  dined  with  him  at  the 
house   where  he  is  staying,  and  enjoyed  a  rich  treat  in  his 
society.     He  is  a  sweet  fellow,  one  of  the  most  gentle,  loving, 
humble  spirits  you  can  conceive  of.     He  treated  us  with  great 
consideration  and  kindness,  conversed  with  William  on  his 
present  and  future  position  like  a  brother,  and  prayed  for  us 
most  fervently. 

"  On    Thursday   morning    he   called   at   Mr.  Wilkins'    and   a  solemn 
baptised  our  dear  Ballington  in  the  presence  of  a  few  friends.    <'^''^"^o"!/- 
It  was  a  very  solemn  and  interesting  ceremony.     He  asked 
for  him  the  most  precious  of  all  blessings,  and  dedicated  him 


3IO 


JJJ?S.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


Mr.    Cau- 
ghey's 
advice. 


to  God  most  fervently,  afterwards  placing  his  hand  on  his  head 
and  blessing  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  He  wrote  me  an 
inscription  for  my  Bible,  and  took  leave  of  us  most  affection- 
ately, expressing  the  deepest  interest  in  our  future,  and  a  de- 
sire to  know  the  proceedings  of  the  next  Conference  in 
William's  case.  I  cannot  describe — I  must  leave  you  to  im- 
agine, the  effect  of  all  this  on  my  mind.  After  almost  ador- 
ing his  very  name  for  ten  years  past  to  be  thus  privileged  was 


Rev.  James  Caughey. 

well  nigh  too  much  for  me.  When  he  took  leave  of  me,  I 
pressed  one  fervent  kiss  on  his  hand,  and  felt  more  gratified 
than  if  it  had  been  Queen  Victoria's." 

Hearing  him  preach  and  speak  encouraged  Mrs. 
Booth  to  hope  for  an  equally  useful  career  for  her  hus- 
band, and  it  was  natural  that  Mr.  Booth  should  con- 
.sult  Mr.  Caughey  as  to  his  future.  The  latter  had 
passed  through  a  very  similar  experience  with  the 
American  branch  of  the  Wesleyan  body,  resigning 
his  position  as  a  pastor  rather  than  be  confined  to  a 


BRIGHOUSE.  311 

circuit.  He  counselled  Mr.  Booth  to  wait  patiently  1858, 
until  he  had  been  ordained  and  received  into  full  con-  ^^  ^^* 
nexion  by  the  Conference,  since  the  time  for  doing  so 
was  now  close  at  hand,  and  Mr.  Caughey  considered 
that  this  would  give  him  a  special  status,  both  in  Eng- 
land and  America,  which  might  prove  of  service  to  him 
in  the  future.  At  the  same  time  he  assured  Mr.  Booth 
that  whether  in  the  Connexion,  or  out  of  it,  there  was 
undoubtedly  awaiting  him  a  career  of  wide-spread 
usefulness. 

Thirty   years   later,    as  General   of    the   Salvation   The  Gen- 

,,       _         1        -!•         1-         ••,•        A  •  111    end  meets 

Army,  Mr.  Booth,  durmg  his  visit  m  America,  called    canghey 
upon  Mr.  Caughey,  who  had  then  for  some  time  retired      y"ari 
from   active  labour  owing  to  old  age  and  increasing      ^"*^''' 
infirmities.      It  was  with  tears  of  joy  that  the  veteran 
embraced  his  former  friend,  and,  after  an  affecting 
interview — the  last  they  were  destined  to  have  upon 
earth — Mr.  Caughey  laid  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  Mr.  Cau- 
the  fellow-laborer  to  whose  life  his  own  had  served  blesses  the 
to  lend  an  added  inspiration,  and  with  his  eyes  lifted 
to  Heaven,  gave  him  his  solemn  and  farewell  blessing. 
Since    that  remarkable    interview   Mr.   Caughey   has 
gone  to  his  reward,  but  before  his  death  the  baby  boy 
whom  in  Sheffield  he  had  dedicated  to  God  had  grown 
to  manhood,  and,  in  company  with  a  devoted  and  tal- 
ented life-partner,  had  taken  his  place  at  the  head  of  a 
widespread  and  powerful  organisation  in  the  United 
States. 

There  was  little  else  of  an  exceptional  character  factory 
that  marked  the  remainder  of  the  stay  in  Brighouse,  qMs. 
but  there  is  a  reference  in  one  of  Mrs.  Booth's  letters 
to  the  condition  of  the  factory  girls  in  the  town,  and 
as  the  subject  is  one  that  has  considerably  exercised 
the  public  conscience  for  some  time  past,  and  is  likely 
to  occupy  the  attention  of    the  legislature,  her  early 


312 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


views  on  the  question  are  of  more  than  passing  inter- 
est. As  usual,  she  strikes  directly  at  the  root  of  the 
evil  and  seeks  to  devise  some  remedy  for  it : 


Mrs. 

Booth 's 

views. 


TJnxvo- 
manising 
influence. 


A  pitiable 
pros])ect. 


Legal 
prohibi- 
tion . 


The  Con- 
ference. 


"  I  wish  you  could  see  the  troops  of  young  girls  who  turn 
out  of  these  Yorkshire  factories  and  mills,  with  their  blue 
smock  pinafores,  handkerchiefed  heads,  and  beclogged  feet. 
They  begin  to  work  as  half-timers  when  they  are  seven  or 
eight  years  old,  and  after  a  little  while  are  able  to  earn  eight  or 
nine  shillings  a  week.  In  a  family  of  three  or  four  girls,  with 
perhaps  a  drunken  father,  it  is  a  great  temptation  to  the  mother 
to  let  her  girls  go  to  the  mill.  Indeed,  parents  seem  to  lose 
sight  altogether  of  the  demoralising  and  unwomanising  influ- 
ence of  the  system.  I  never  met  with  such  a  'pounds,  shill- 
ings, and  pence'  people  in  my  life.  They  seem  to  have  lost 
sight  of  every  consideration — comfort,  respectability,  and 
everything  else — for  the  'brass,'  as  they  call  it.  I  know  peo- 
ple, whom  to  look  at  in  their  homes  you  would  think  to  be 
quite  poor,  who  are  really  worth  hundreds  of  pounds. 

"  I  was  out  for  a  little  walk  with  a  friend  yesterday,  when 
we  met  a  troop  of  factory  girls  going  to  dinner.  I  observed 
that  it  augured  discouragingly  for  the  future  of  our  country, 
this  horrible  system  of  employing  our  young  women  in  fac- 
tories. What  pitiable  wives  and  mothers  they  will  make ! 
Mothers!  Alas,  I  should  say  bearers  of  children,  for  we  have 
lamentable  evidence  that  in  everything  desirable  to  the  sacred 
relationship  they  are  awfully  deficient.  I  see  no  help  for  it 
but  a  law  prohibiting  young  girls  under  twenty  from  working 
in  factories  before  one  o'clock.  This  would  oblige  them  to 
attend  to  domestic  matters  in  the  forenoon,  and  in  numbers 
of  instances  to  seek  situations  as  household  servants.  I  wish 
some  one  would  begin  to  agitate  the  subject  in  the  news- 
papers." 

But  the  time  for  the  annual  meeting  of  Conference 
was  drawing  near,  and  the  all-absorbing  question  as 
to  its  probable  attitude  in  regard  to  the  future  en- 
grossed the  attention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth.  They 
approached  some  of  their  ministerial  opponents,  but 
found  them  no  more  willing  to  agree  to  the  evangel- 


BRIGHOUSE. 


313 


istic  work  than  they  had  been  a  year  ago.  Judging 
from  the  attitude  of  even  the  more  friendly  preachers 
it  was  easy  to  gather  that  the  hopes  that  had  been 
held  out  by  the  previous  Conference,  and  which  had 
formed  so  strong  a  part  of  the  inducement  to  acquiesce 
in  the  decision,  would  probably  fall  through.  Mrs. 
Booth  writes  to  her  parents  as  follows : 

"  William  was  at  Halifax  on  Sunday  and  opened  the  service 
for  Mr.  Cooke,  who  was  preaching  there  and  who  called  to  see 
us  yesterday.  We  were  rather  disappointed  with  him.  He 
does  not  seem  so  thorough  on  the  subject  of  William's  work 
as  we  expected.  Well,  we  must  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  seek 
to  know  His  will,  for  cursed  is  he  who  trusteth  in  man  and 
maketh  flesh  his  boast.  Mr.  W\  Mills  told  William  at 
Sheffield  that  he  believed  him  better  adapted  for  the  evangel- 
istic work  than  Mr.  Caughey— but,  but!  Ah,  I  know  7vhat,  as 
Mr.  Caughey  says!" 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Mrs.  Booth  adds: 
"  We  have  no  fresh  news  of  a  Connexional  character.  We 
don't  anticipate  William's  reappointment  to  the  evangelistic 
work.  All  the  whispers  we  hear  on  the  subject  seem  to  pre- 
dict the  contrary.  No,  the  spirit  among  the  opposing  few 
who  put  him  down  is,  I  fear,  as  rampant  now  as  it  was  then, 
and  his  having  gone  through  a  circuit  with  all  its  usual  rou- 
tine will  not  appease  it.  The  opposition  party  will,  however, 
have  to  make  it  manifest  what  manner  of  spirit  they  are  of. 
for  the  question  this  time  will  be  thoroughly  thrashed  out. 
We  are  seeking  direction  from  above,  and  are  endeavouring 
to  consecrate  ourselves  freshly  to  God,  promising  that  if  He 
but  clearly  shows  us  His  will  in  the  matter,  we  will  walk  in 
it  at  any  cost.  If  we  go  to  a  circuit  it  will  probably  be  Hali- 
fax, for  they  seem  determined  to  have  us." 

Although  the  Brighouse  circuit  had,  in  the  first 
instance,  extended  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  but  a  cool 
reception,  when  the  time  for  the  Conference  drew 
near  the  local  officials  met  together  and  presented  a 
unanimous  request  for  the  prolongation  of  their  stay 


1858, 
Age  29. 

rnwilling 

to  keep 

their 

pledge. 


Waverers. 


The  ap- 
proach ■ 
ing  con- 
test. 


The  cir- 

cv.  it  invite 

them  to 

remain. 


314 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


But  then 
decline. 


Mr.  Booth 

j.s  or- 
dained. 


Hands 
en. 


Hands 
off- 


The 
circuits 
petition. 


during  another  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth,  however, 
declined  the  offer,  believing  that,  whether  they  re- 
turned to  the  evangelistic  work  or  not,  a  change  of 
appointment  would  be  beneficial. 

The  Conference  met  in  May  at  Hull.  Mr.  Booth 
was  unanimously  received  into  what  is  termed  full 
connexion,  his  four  years  of  probation  now  having 
expired.  He  was  accordingly  summoned  to  present 
himself  for  ordination.  This  was  a  somewhat  for- 
midable ceremony.  The  President  for  the  year,  and 
the  ex- Presidents  of  former  years,  stood  upon  the  plat- 
form for  the  purpose  of  "  laying  hands"  on  the  candi- 
dates, who  were  previously  called  upon  to  give  an 
account  of  their  conversion,  and  of  their  reasons  for 
seeking  ordination. 

Mr.  Booth  had  stipulated  with  some  of  those  in 
whose  piety  and  devotion  he  thoroughly  believed, 
that  he  should  be  near  them  and  reap  whatever  ad- 
vantage might  accrue  from  their  faith  and  prayers^ 
while  there  were  others  whom  he  studiously  avoided, 
feeling  that  if  the  laying  on  of  their  hands  involved  the 
impartation  of  the  character  and  spirit  they  possessed, 
he  would  rather  dispense  with  it! 

The  question  of  his  re-appointment  to  evangelistic 
work  had  not  as  yet  come  up  for  the  consideration  of 
the  Conference.  A  number  of  circuits  had  petitioned 
in  favour  of  the  proposal,  and  Mr.  Booth's  friends 
were  prepared  to  push  the  matter  vigorously  when  it 
was  brought  forward  for  discussion.  The  following 
characteristic  letter  from  him  just  after  he  had  re- 
ceived his  ordination  describes  the  situation: 


"  29th  May,  1858. 
J^J^  "  I  have  just  been  to  Hull  to  receive  the  rite  of  ordination. 

Booth's     I  understand  that  my  reception  into  full  connexion  was  most 
cordial  and  thoroughly  unanimous.     The  service  was  an  in- 


BRIG  HO  USE.  315 

teresting  one.  I  was  surprised  to  find  so  large  a  number  of  1858, 
revival  friends  at  the  Conference.  John  Ridgway,  William  Age  29. 
Mills,  William  Cooke,  Turnock,  and  many  others  are  anxious 
on  the  question  of  my  re-appointment  to  evangelistic  work. 
Birmingham,  Truro,  Halifax  (my  own  circuit),  Chester, 
Hawarden,  and  Macclesfield  have  presented  memorials  pray- 
ing Conference  to  reinstate  me  in  my  former  position.  The 
discussion  had  not  come  on  when  the  business  closed  last 
night. 

•'  I  understand  I  have  won  golden  opinions  by  my  deport-    Winning 
ment  during  the  year.     I  cannot  understand  this,  because  I     ^^^^f^^ns 
am  conscious  that  I  have  not  served  the  Connexion  to  any- 
thing like  the  extent  I  have  done  formerly.     But  I  have  kept     by  keep- 
quiet,  and  that  for  a  young  man  is  very  proper! "  ^"^  ^^"^*' 

At  this  juncture  a  Mr.  Halliwell,  who  had  been  one  a  com- 
of  the  most  rabid  opponents  of  the  evangelistic  work  suggistTd. 
at  the  previous  Conference,  came  forward  and  sug- 
gested a  compromise.  His  proposition  was  that  Mr. 
Booth  should  agree  to  go  to  a  circuit  for  another  year, 
at  the  end  of  which  he  should  be  recalled  to  revival 
work  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Conference.  Mr. 
Halliwell  offered  himself  to  propose  this  resolution, 
which  was  to  be  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Booth's  friends. 
The  compromise  was  accepted,  though  at  a  subsequent 
date  Mr.  Booth  was  not  a  little  chagrined  to  find  that 
the  resolution  in  question  made  no  mention  of  the 
stipulated  restoration  to  the  evangelistic  sphere. 

Meanwhile,  no  sooner  had  it  become  known  that     Gates- 

.  ,        1  head 

Mr.  Booth  was  likely  to  take  a  circuit,  than  the  lay  claims  his 
delegate  from  Gateshead  put  forth  his  utmost  influ- 
ence to  secure  his  services.  Not  that  the  prospect 
was  a  specially  inviting  one.  The  cause  in  Gateshead 
was  very  low.  Nominally  there  were  some  ninety 
members  on  the  rolls  of  the  town  chapel  (Bethesda,  as 
it  was  called),  but  few  of  these  attended  class,  and  the 
ordinary  Sunday-night  congregation  only  numbered 


services. 


3i6  MJiS.   BOOTH. 

1858,      about  one  hundred  and  twenty.      Still,   these  were 
Age  29.    (jig^c^ii-igs   which    did    not    daunt   Mr.   Booth.      The 
The  in-    people  were  anxious  to  have  him,  and  this  in  itself 
accepted,    promised  well  for  their  hearty  co-operation  in  any 
efforts  that  he  might   put  forth.      The  town  was  a 
large  one,   numbering  at  that  time  a  population  of 
about  50,000.     And  just  across  the  waters  of  the  Tyne 
was  the  mother  city  of  Newcastle.     Realising,  there- 
fore, that  the  town   and   neighbourhood   afforded  so 
large  a  scope  for  his  labours,   Mr.  Booth  consented  to 
the  appointment. 
Mrs.  To  this  arrangement  Mrs.  Booth  reluctantly  agreed. 

luctantiy  She  could  uot  but  feel  the  injustice  of  the  action  of 
agrees.  ^-^^  Conference,  nor  fail  to  doubt  the  future  fulfilment 
of  their  present  pledge.  Nevertheless,  having  disin- 
terestedly committed  her  cause  to  the  One  whose  will 
she  sought  above  all  else  to  follow,  she  started  for 
Gateshead  with  the  settled  conviction  that  the  ap- 
pointment would  prove  to  be  among  the  "all  things" 
that  "work  together  for  good." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

GATESHEAD.     THE  CONVERTING  SHOP. 

1858. 

The  change  from  Brighouse  to  Gateshead  was  like  ^4  wann- 
a  transfer  from  the  North  Pole  to  the  Equator.  Al-  peojoie. 
though  the  members  were  not  numerous,  they  were 
warm-hearted.  In  bygone  years  the  cause  had  been 
a  flourishing  one,  but  it  had  been  wrecked  by  a  min- 
ister who  had  previously  been  most  useful.  From 
being  an  earnest  and  successful  preacher,  he  had  so 
completely  backslidden  as  to  become  an  infidel  lect- 
urer, and  although  before  his  death  he  gave  true  signs 
of  genuine  penitence,  he  was  never  able  to  undo  the 
mischief  that  his  conduct  had  wrought.  How  true 
is  it  that 

"  The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them ! 
The  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones !" 

Not  only  so,  but  even  during  life,  it  is  found  easier  An  uphui 
to  undo  the  good  we  have  done,  than  to  remedy  the 
evil.  At  any  rate  it  was  so  in  the  present  case.  The 
Gateshead  circuit  had  received  a  blow  from  which  it 
had  hitherto  been  unable  to  recover.  Its  membership 
had  dwindled,  soul-saving  had  become  almost  un- 
known, debts  had  been  contracted,  and  pastor  after 
pastor  had  vainly  striven  to  lift  it  out  of  its  slough 
of  despond  with  little  or  no  success.  Nevertheless  a 
faithful  few  had  struggled  on  in  the  dark,  believing 
that  a  brighter  day  would  sooner  or  later  dawn.     By 

317 


3i8 


AIRS.   BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 

Delighted 

at  the 
appoint- 
ment. 


The 
people. 


The 
chapel. 


Hopes 
realised. 


these  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Booth  was  hailed  with 
unfeigned  delight. 

"They  had  a  social  tea-meeting  last  evening," 
writes  Mrs.  Booth  to  her  parents,  as  soon  as  she 
could  put  pen  to  paper  in  her  Gateshead  home,  "  to 
welcome  us  into  the  Circuit,  and  we  were  highly  grat- 
ified, I  can  assure  you.  In  fact,  you  could  hardly 
conceive  a  more  marked  contrast  than  between  our 
reception  here  and  at  Brighouse.  It  is  all  we  can  de- 
sire. The  leading  men  say  they  have  got  the  best 
appointment  in  the  Connexion.  I  wish  you  could 
have  heard  Mr.  Firbank's  speech,  the  gentleman  who 
went  to  Conference  as  their  delegate.  He  told  us 
afterward  some  of  the  remarks  made  to  him  by  several 
of  the  leading  members  of  the  Conference,  when  the 
first  reading  came  out  with  our  names  down  for 
Gateshead,  such  as  'Don't  you  wish  you  may  get  it!' 
'It's  too  good  to  stand!'  etc.  It  enlightened  us 
much  as  to  the  estimate  in  which,  after  all,  the  bulk  of 
the  Conference  hold  William's  ability  and  value  to 
the  Connexion. 

"  Well,  the  people  here  seem  unanimous  in  their  sat- 
isfaction and  cordiality.  I  like  them  much,  so  far  as 
I  have  seen  them.  They  appear  intelligent  and  warm- 
hearted. The  chapel  is  a  beautiful  building,  and 
seats  1,250,  they  say.  I  have  consented  to  meet  a 
class  again,  provided  I  can  have  it  at  home,  as  the 
chapel  is  more  than  half  a  mile  distant,  and  it  is  up- 
hill coming  back." 

The  bright  anticipations  with  which  the  people  met 
their  new  pastor  were  more  than  realised.  The  con- 
gregations began  rapidly  to  increase.  At  the  very 
first  Sunday-night  meeting  six  persons  professed  sal- 
vation, and  the  occasion  was  made  the  more  interest- 
ing   by  what  was  then  an  unheard-of  novelty — the 


THE  CONVERTING  SHOP. 


319 


minister's  wife  leading  off  in  prayer  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  sermon ! 

Before  many  weeks  had  passed  the  attendance  at 
Bethesda  Chapel  had  doubled  and  quadrupled,  till  at 
length  not  only  was  every  seat  taken,  but  it  was  not 
uncommon  for  the  aisles  and  every  available  spot  to 
be  occupied  so  that  some  two  thousand  persons  were 
crowded  within  the  walls.  The  fame  of  the  work 
spread  all  around  and  gained  for  the  chapel  the  sou- 
briquet of  the  "Converting  Shop."  If  the  title  was 
not  dignified,  it  was  at  least  very  significant,  and 
served,  perhaps,  to  pave  the  way  for  the  similar  com- 
monplace epithets  which  were  to  distinguish  the  poor 
man's  cathedrals  of  the  Salvation  Army.  The  public- 
houses  which  cater  for  the  taste  of  the  very  classes 
whom  the  Salvation  Army  was  afterwards  to  reach, 
have  long  recognised  the  value  of  this  peculiar  species 
of  nomenclature,  and  it  is  interesting  to  trace  thus 
early  the  introduction  of  the  dialect  of  the  common 
people.  Neither  was  it  to  be  confined  to  the  names 
of  places.  The  familiar  phraseology  of  the  taproom 
was  hereafter  to  be  adopted  to  an  extent  that  caused 
considerable  alarm  among  those  who  confound  rever- 
ence with  refinement,  and  who  are  more  afraid  of 
vulgarity  than  of  sin.  To  such  it  has  seemed  little 
vShort  of  blasphemy  to  dub  a  church  a  "barracks,"  to 
speak  of  a  preacher  as  a  "Hallelujah  lass"  or  "lad," 
a  "  Happy  Eliza,"  or  a  "Glory  Tom," — to  call  a  meet- 
ing a  "free-and-easy,"  and,  in  short,  to  adopt  the 
every-day  language  of  the  poor. 

It  is  worth  noting,  however,  that  nearly  every  such 
expression  has  been  coined  by  the  people  themselves, 
often  by  the  unconverted  roughs  who  form  the  bulk 
of  our  open-air  congregations.  They  have  suited  the 
popular  taste,  and  thus  have  spread  from  one  place  to 


1858, 
Age  29. 

Crowded 
out. 


The  Con- 
verting 
Shop. 


The  value 
of  si^ich 
nomen- 
clature. 


Vidganty 
not  sin, 
nor  irrev- 
erence. 


Carried 
by  the 
people. 


320 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


The  Gel- 

avoonka- 

rayas, 

and  Bat- 
chagars. 


Book-lan- 
guage. 


Theology. 


'Hie  lan- 
guaqe  of 

the 
people. 


another,  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  early- 
Christians  were  derisively  nicknamed  in  Antioch,  or 
the  Quakers,  Methodists,  and  Teetotallers  in  later 
days.  In  Ceylon  a  Salvationist  is  familiarly  known 
among  Buddhists  as  a  "  Gelavoonkaraya" — Saviour — 
while  in  South  India,  in  expression  of  the  same  idea, 
the  Hindoos  reckon  that  he  belongs  to  the  Ratchagar 
caste.  PAX  popular  movements  are  bound  more  or  less 
to  partake  of  this  character.  Nor  is  it  complained  of 
in  politics,  where  we  tolerate  the  existence  of  Whigs, 
Tories,  Jingoes,  Mugwumps,  and  similar  vulgarities. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  adoption  of  a 
stilted,  unnatural,  highflown,  bookish  phraseology  in 
matters  pertaining  to  religion  has  served  largely  to 
alienate  the  lower  classes  from  its  pursuit.  Ministers 
talk  a  foreign  language,  largely  learned  from  books. 
Theology  has  long  since  been  divorced  from  the 
vulgar  colloquial  of  the  common  people,  and  has  been 
united  in  matrimony  to  the  language  of  a  bygone  age. 
Hence  it  has  had  to  content  itself  for  its  conquests 
with  those  who  have  been  sufficiently  educated  to  un- 
derstand its  terms. 

A  deep  principle  underlies  this  fact.  To  become 
familiar  with  the  thoughts  and  feelings,  the  sorrows 
and  aspirations  of  the  multitude,  we  must  speak  their 
language,  and  surely  without  such  familiarity  we 
cannot  hope  to  grapple  with  their  circumstances,  and 
convince  them  of  the  truths  we  proclaim.  True,  lan- 
guage is  but  a  vehicle  for  expressing  our  thoughts. 
It  is  the  spirit  embodied  in  our  words  that  makes  or 
mars  our  efforts.  Nevertheless,  if  the  right  spirit 
exists,  it  necessarily  follows  that  it  will  invariably 
lead  to  the  choice  of  such  language  as  will  the  most 
readily  convey  its  meaning.  Why  should  it  select 
the  high-flown  phrases   of  conventionality,   when  it 


cient 
(jalley. 


THE  CONVERTING  SHOP.  321 

finds  ready  for  its  use  expressions  full  of  force,  mean-      1858, 
ing  and  vitality,  any  more  than  we  should  prefer  a  trip       ^^  ^^' 
across  the  Atlantic  in   the  facsimile  of  Christopher    .4  mod- 
Columbus's  galley  rather  than  in  a  modern  steamer.   to\mYin. 
It  is  true  there  are  those  who  regret  the  exchange 
from  the  spotless  decks  and  snowy  canvas  of  the  for- 
mer to  the  coal  dust,  noise,  and  machinery  of  the  lat- 
ter.    But  when  it  comes  to  the  question  of  a  voyage 
there  are  few  who  would  prefer  even  the  most  recent 
versions  of   the  sailing    ship  to  its  more  grimy  but 
swift  competitor.     If,  indeed,  men  were  bent  on  recre- 
ation rather  than   business,   it  might  be   otherwise. 
And    perhaps    this   may  be    the    explanation   of   the 
strange  perversity  with  which,  in  religious  matters, 
an  opposite  course  is  pursued,  that  so  few  make  the 
salvation  of  the  masses  the  business  of  their  lives  and 
the  subject  of  absorbing  study. 

But,  however  this  may  be,  Bethesda  Chapel  certainly 
took  a  new  lease  of  life  from  the  time  that  it  was  pop- 
ularly christened  the  "Converting  Shop." 

The   first   year  spent  by  Mr.   and   Mrs.    Booth   in   The  birth 
Gateshead  was  signalled  by  the  birth  of  their  eldest      Mnr^- 
daughter,  Catherine,  now  Mrs.  Booth-Clibborn,  better      '^*"^' 
known  to  the  public  as  the  "  Marechale."     This  inter- 
esting event  took   place  on  the    i8th  of  September, 
1858.     "Baby  is  a  little  beauty,"  reports  Mr.  Booth 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mumford,  "a  perfect  gem,  healthy 
and  quiet,  and  is  altogether  all  the  fondest  grandfather 
or  grandmother  could  desire.     I  am  sure  you  ought 
to  send  us  a  vote  of   thanks,  passed  unanimously,  for 
conferring  such  honor  upon  you." 

The  vote  of  thanks  asked  for  by  Mr.  Booth  was    The  vote 
to  come  from  quarters  of  which  he  had  then  not  the  ^•^"'""'''^• 
faintest  suspicion.     The  baby  girl  that  Mrs.    Booth 
clasped  with  such  fondness  to  her  heart,  telling  her 


322  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1858,      mother  that  she  loved  her  better  than  the  rest,  be- 

^^^  ^^'    cause  the  others  being  boys  were  better  able  to  look 

after  themselves,  was  to  be  the  first  missionary  of  the 

family,   and  the  love   and  blessing  of  thousands  of 

French  and  Swiss  converts  were  yet  to  be  hers. 

Writing  to  her  mother  Mrs.  Booth  says: 

The  habii.  "  ^s  to  the  baby,  I  suppose  yot:  will  think  me  like  all 
mothers  when  I  say  she  is  a  little  beauty!  Her  hair  is  ex- 
actly the  color  of  mine.  She  has  a  nice  nose  and  mouth,  a 
fine  forehead,  and  a  plump  round  face.  William  thinks  she  is 
more  like  me  than  any  of  them.  She  is  the  picture  of  health 
and  happiness  and  thrives  daily.  Now  I  hope  this  description 
is  particular  enough  even  for  a  grandmama." 

^„  ^11         A  series  of  revival  services  were  inaugurated,  com- 
daji  of     mencing  on  Whit-Monday  with  an  entire  day  of  fast- 
and  ffist-  {ng  and  prayer,  lasting  from  seven  in  the  morning 
till  ten  at  night — the  first  "  all  day  of  prayer"  of  which 
we  have  any  record,  and  the  precursor  of  the  many 
"all  days,"  "all  nights,"  and   "two  days  with  God," 
which  have  since  been  made  a  blessing  to  so  many 
thousands.     And  yet,  from  the  very  commencement 
of    Mr.    Booth's  ministry,   Sunday  had  been    practi- 
cally spent  as  an  "  all  day. "    The  possibility  of  extend- 
ing the  idea  to  week-days,  and  especially  to  holidays, 
was,  however,  a  later  development.     Hence  the  first 
experiment  in  this  direction  is  of  special  interest. 
A  s2oeciai       It  was  followcd  by  ten  weeks  of  special  services,  the 
^       '      whole   town   being    previously  canvassed    with    bills 
which  were   distributed  from  house  to  house,    Mrs. 
Booth  herself    undertaking  one    district  which   con- 
tained about  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses.     As  a  result 
Three      of  this  effort  more  than  three  hundred  persons  pro- 
penitents.    fessed  to  be  converted,  many  of   whom  were  young 
men  who   not  only  became  useful  members   of  the 


THE  CONVERTING  SHOP.  323 

church  but  afterwards  rose  to  positions  of  distinction      1858, 
as  mayors,  aldermen,  magistrates  and  ministers.  ^^  ^^' 

At  the   commencement  of   the   revival   Mr.  Booth    A-praxi- 
made  out  a  long  list  of  names  of  those  for  whose  sal-    "'^  ^*^' 
vation  he  was  specially  solicitous,   and   it  was  with 
great  joy  that  he  found  at  the  conclusion  of  the  meet- 
ings that  nearly  all  of  them  had  been  converted.     In 
one  case  there  was  a  family  of  sixteen  members,  all  of        The 

1  11  r  T     .         /-      T  1     ii  famihf  of 

whom  had  professed  to  rind  peace,  and  there  were  sixteen. 
several  other  entire  families  of  six  or  eight  members. 
In  one  large  workshop  on  the  Tyne,  the  men  in  the 
cooperage  department — an  exceptionally  drunken  set 
— all  professed  conversion, with  one  solitary  exception. 
And  a  number  of  men  employed  in  a  cement  factory 
gave  a  similar  testimony. 

The  meetings  are  described  by  Mrs.  Booth  in  the 
following  letter: 

"  William  is  to  conduct  a  union  prayer-meeting  next  Friday        r/jg 
nisfht  in  the  Wesleyan  Chapel.     The   whole  town  is  moved,    chairman 
His  name  is  a  regular  topic  of  conversation  m  tne  large  iron   and-casy. 
and  railway  works,  some  of  which  employ   1,200  men.     On 
Tuesday   night  they  had   one  man  at  the  rail  who  said  he 
was  chairman  of  a  public-house  'free-and-easy,'  but  that  he 
should  drop  it,  go  home,  and  burn  ail  his  song  books.     One  of 
our  people   saw  him  the  other  day,  in  the   place   where  he 
works,  surrounded  by  a  lot  of  rough  fellows,  who  were  'chair- 
ing '  him  (carrying  him  round  the  works  in  a  chair)  in  honour 
of  his  conversion.     But,   though  they  jeer  and  ridicule  him 
in  every   possible   way,  he   still   holds   on.     May   the   Lord 
strengthen  him. 

"  We  were  never  in  a  work  where  the  cases  were  so  satis-  The 
factory.  Nearly  all  are  adults,  and  many  are  intelligent,  edu-  converts. 
Gated,  and  respectable.  Some  single  instances  would  satisfy 
many  a  preacher  of  the  jog-trot  sort  for  a  whole  year's  labour. 
The  congregations,  too,  have  kept  up  amazingly.  In  fact  they 
have  continued  improving,  vast  numbers  of  strangers  coming 
every  night." 


324 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 

A  recog- 
nition 
meeting. 

A  strik- 
ing  scene. 


The  open- 
air  ivork. 


Finances 
improve. 


The  series  of  services  closed  with  a  "  recognition 
meetinof"  for  the  new  converts,  at  which  Mrs.  Booth 
was  present,  and  of  which  she  sends  the  following 
account  to  her  mother : 

"  I  ventured  to  chapel  on  Tuesday  night  to  the  public  recog- 
nition service.  The  persons  brought  to  God  since  we  have 
been  here  were  admitted  by  ticket  into  the  body  of  the  chapel, 
while  the  old  members  and  the  public  occupied  the  gallery. 
It  would  have  done  your  soul  good  to  have  seen  the  bottom 
of  that  large  chapel  almost  full  of  new  converts,  most  of  them 
people  in  middle  life,  and  a  great  proportion  men. 

"  William  gave  them  an  address  composed  of  various  coun- 
sels respecting  their  future  course,  which  if  they  adopt  they 
will  do  something  for  this  poor  world  of  ours. 

"  On  the  whole  it  has  been  a  glorious  year  for  this  circuit, 
such  an  one  as  nobody  expected  to  see.  And  I  believe  Wil- 
liam has  become  the  most  popular  and  beloved  minister  either 
in  Gateshead  or  Newcastle.  All  praise  unto  Him,  Whose 
doing  it  is!  " 

Another  special  feature  of  the  Gateshead  campaign 
was  its  open-air  work.  This  was  an  entire  novelty  in 
the  town.  The  members  were  organised  into  a  pro- 
cession every  Sunday  evening  and  paraded  the  streets 
from  five  to  six  o'clock,  singing  as  they  went,  and 
stopping  at  suitable  intervals  for  the  delivery  of  brief 
and  pointed  exhortations  to  the  unconverted  persons 
who  crowded  round  the  ring.  On  several  occasions 
bands  of  men  were  sent  out  by  the  publicans  to  sing 
down  the  processionists,  who  not  unfrequently  started 
singing  a  hymn  to  the  same  popular  tune,  thus  de- 
feating the  would-be  disturbers  with  their  own 
weapons. 

The  spiritual  revival  was  accompanied  by  an  en- 
couraging improvement  in  the  financial  position  of 
the  circuit.  Not  only  were  the  old  debts  wiped  off, 
but  the  funds  became  sufficient  to  support  three  in- 


THE  CONVERTING  SHOP.  325 

stead  of  two  ministers,  and  to  meet  with  ease  all  the  1858, 
current  liabilities.  It  would  have  been  possible  at  ^^ 
the  previous  Conference  for  Mr,  Booth  to  have  se- 
cured his  appointment  to  a  circuit  the  financial  pros- 
perity of  which  had  been  already  assured,  but  this 
with  him  was  always  a  secondary  consideration.  He 
argued  that  the  best  way  to  ensure  the  financial  in- 
terests of  any  circuit  was  to  restore  prosperity  to  its 
spiritual  interests,  and  that  in  so  doing  the  former 
would  never  fail  to  revive.  The  truth  of  this  princi- 
ple he  has  been  able  to  demonstrate  over  and  over 
again  during  his  subsequent  career. 

With  one  of  the  means  for  recruiting  the  circuit  church 
funds  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  had  reason  to  be  dis-  ^«^««''^- 
satisfied.  They  had  looked  upon  bazaars  as  a  part 
and  parcel  of  the  church  routine,  and  had  hitherto 
countenanced  them  without  experiencing  any  con- 
scientious qualms.  With  the  general  principle  of 
offering  gifts  in  kind  for  the  advancement  of  God's 
Kingdom,  and  of  selling  what  had  thus  been  given, 
they  had  no  quarrel.  It  was  the  abuses  which  had 
gradually  crept  into  the  system  that  aroused  their 
disapproval  and  brought  them  to  the  decision  that 
they  could  no  longer  countenance  the  system. 

Mrs.  Booth  sends  her  mother  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  what  had  occurred : 

"  I  have  had  a  very  harassing  week,  though  I  have  Mrs. 
not  been  much  to  the  Bazaar  since  the  first  day.  I  excision 
have  been  too  busy  to  go  in  the  daytime,  and  too 
weary  of  an  evening.  However,  I  have  had  quite 
enough  of  it,  and  have  made  up  my  mind  that  it  is  the 
last  I  will  ever  have  anything  to  do  with  so  long  as  I 
live.  William  has  come  to  the  same  conclusion.  In 
fact,  he  is  quite  disheartened  and  unhappy  about  it. 

"  So  far  as  getting  money  is  concerned  it  has  been 


326 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 

A  disni- 
patin<t, 
godless 
affair. 


Her 

matured 

opinion 

about 

bazaars. 


very  successful,  having  realized  ;^2  32,  but  it  has  been 
a  dissipating,  godless  affair,  and  has  exerted  a  very 
evil  influence  on  our  people.  There  has  been  a  deal 
of  lotterying,  which  is  little  better  than  gambling, 
and  the  foolery  and  display  in  dress  has  made  us  sick 
at  heart.  William  says  he  will  write  a  pamphlet  on 
the  subject,  but  I  don't  know  whether  he  will  find 
the  time.  I  am  sure  some  one  ought  to  set  forth  the 
secularising,  worldly  influence  such  occasions  exert  on 
the  church.     It  is  most  baneful." 

Referring  to  this  subject  in  later  years  Mrs.  Booth 
says: 

"  I  said  to  a  lady  a  little  while  ago,  who  was  work- 
ing an  elaborate  piece  of  embroidery  for  a  bazaar, 
'Why  don't  you  give  the  money,  and  use  your  time 
for  something  better?'  She  answered,  'This  will  sell 
for  more  than  it  costs.'  'Then  reckon  what  it  will 
sell  for,  and  give  the  money;  don't  sit  at  home  mak- 
ing other  people's  finery,  instead  of  visiting  the  sick 
and  seeking  to  save  the  lost!'  It  makes  me  burn  with 
shame  to  think  how  money  is  raised  for  so-called  re- 
ligious purposes  by  semi-worldly  concerts,  entertain- 
ments, penny  readings,  and  bazaars  at  which  there 
is  frequently  positive  gambling  to  raise  money  for 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  they  say  they  love  more  than 
fathers,  mothers,  husbands,  wives,  houses  or  lands, 
or  anything  else  on  earth!" 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

GATESHEAD.      1858-1859. 

It  was  during  the  autumn  of  1858  that  an  accident  a  narrotir 
occurred  which,    but    for    the    Divine  interposition,     ^^^^p^- 
might  have  brought  Mrs.  Booth's  career    to  an  un- 
timely  conclusion.     She  thus  describes  the  incident 
in  a  letter  to  her  parents: 

"  Sunday  evening. 

"  I  have  not  been  out  today,  in  consequence  of  feel- 
ing- stiff  and  poorly  from  the  effects  of  an  accident  which 
befell  me  on  Friday.  And  when  I  have  described  it  I 
am  sure  you  will  join  me  in  praising  God  that  I  am  no 
worse.  William  has  wanted  me  and  the  children  to  go  to 
Sheriff  Hill  ever  since  the  special  services  there  commenced, 
but  we  put  it  off  to  the  last.  On  Friday,  however,  we  all  went 
to  the  concluding  services.  Mr.  Scott  brought  a  very  nice  con- 
veyance and  his  own  pony  to  fetch  us.  We  went  in  safety  and 
comfort,  enjoyed  the  meeting,  and  were  coming  home  at 
about  half-past  six. 

"  Through  a  little  oversight,  however,  it  was  found  we  could  a  danger- 
not  have  the  same  conveyance  for  return,  but  only  a  gig  be-  ous  fall. 
longing  to  one  of  our  friends.  So,  fortunately,  I  sent  the 
nurse  home  on  foot  with  the  baby,  a  young  woman  accom- 
panying her.  William  delayed  going  into  the  meeting  to 
pack  us  off  all  right.  Young  Scott  was  driving,  Willie  sat  in 
the  middle,  and  I  with  Ballington  on  my  knee,  all  mufiHed  and 
cloaked,  next  to  him.  The  moment  we  were  all  in  I  felt  we 
were  too  light  on  the  horse's  back,  but  did  not  say  anything 
for  fear  of  being  thought  ridiculous.  We  had  not  gone  many 
yards,  however,  before  I  was  sure  we  were  not  safe,  and  I  said 
to    Mr.  Scott,  'Oh,    dear!  I   feel   as   though  we  were   slipping 

327 


328 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1858, 
Age  29. 


A  marvel- 
lous es- 
cax>e. 


Nobod]/ 
hurt. 


The  horse 

was  not 

to   blame. 


"  Jig  boke! 

Make 

Pilloo 

fall ! " 


backwards!'  I  had  hardly  got  the  words  out  of  my  mouth 
when  the  pon5^  frightened  by  the  rising  of  the  shafts,  set 
off,  and  we  were  all  thrown  out  behind. 

"  I  fell  flat  on  the  back  of  my  head  with  Ballington  on  the 
top  of  me.  I  don't  know  how  Willi'?  fell,  but,  wonderful  to 
say,  they  were  neither  of  them  hurt.  William  and  all  Mr. 
Scott's  family  still  stood  watching  us  when  it  happened,  and 
of  course  flew  to  our  assistance,  screaming  as  they  came.  In- 
deed all  the  village  was  up  in  arms.  The  horse  went  off  with 
the  gig  at  full  gallop,  not  stopping  until  he  fell  flat  down, 
breaking  both  shafts. 

"  William  lifted  me  in  his  arms  and  carried  me  back.  One 
and  another  took  the  children,  and  we  all  received  the  great- 
est care  and  kindness  from  the  Scotts,  who  were  very  much 
distressed.  I  was  greatly  shaken,  and  nearly  all  the  sense 
knocked  out  of  me,  but  I  trust  no  serious  harm  was  done.  I 
feel  better  this  evening.  Is  it  not  a  mercy  that  I  am  able  to 
write  to  you !  It  seems  wonderful  to  me  that  I  have  escaped 
so  well,  considering  that  I  was  rendered  so  helpless  by  the 
child  beirig  on  my  knee.  It  was  a  terrible  crash,  such  as  I 
would  not  like  again,  but,  bless  the  Lord,  we  are  all  alive  and 
the  children  are  not  a  bit  the  worse.  No  one  can  account  for 
the  accident,  but  I  think  the  harnessing  was  wrong.  I  am 
sure  the  horse  was  not  to  blame.  It  is  a  sweet  creature  and 
never  did  such  a  thing  before,  but  the  rising  of  the  shafts 
frightened  it.  Another  mercy  connected  with  it  is  that  we 
had  just  got  over  some  very  large  and  sharp  stones,  recently 
laid  down,  on  to  an  even  road.  If  it  had  happened  on  the 
stones  I  believe  my  head  would  have  been  laid  open. 

"  They  borrowed  a  phaeton  to  bring  us  home — not  a  very 
comfortable  ride,  I  can  assure  you,  after  such  a  fright.  How- 
ever, we  arrived  safely,  and  I  am  not  likely  to  forget  our  visit 
to  Sheriff  Hill !  Willie  says,  'Jig  boke !  Make  Pilloo  (Willie) 
fall!  And  mama  fall!  Poor  mama!  Got  pain!'  You  would 
have  been  pleased  to  see  what  concern  the  little  creature 
manifested  about  me  when  1  lay  on  the  sofa  at  Mr.  Scotts. 
He  seemed  to  forget  everybody  but  me.  It  has  freshly  en- 
deared him  to  me.  How  strange  that  after  all  our  journey- 
ings  up  and  down  without  a  single  accident,  we  .should 
happen  to  have  this  one  in  going  but  two  miles  from  home ! 
I  trust  I  am  becomingly  thankful  for  such  a  favourable  issue.'' 


GATESHEAD.  329 

Mrs.  Booth  was   careful    to  avoid  manifesting  any  1858, 

sort  of  favouritism  in  the  treatment  of  her  children.  ^^  ^^' 

A    year    previous    to    this,    soon    after    Ballington's  jvo 

birth,  Mr.  Booth  writes  as  follows:  ^''""ism'^' 

"  Kate  says  we  must  have  no   distinctions,   such  as   forty      yo  coat 
kisses  for  Willie  and  only  twenty  for  Babs.     No  coat  of  many     cf  many 
colours.      You  must  love  both  alike.     Is  this  possible?     lam     ^^  °^^^' 
afraid  not,    especially  when  we  remember  how  grandmama 
toiled  and  sacrificed  over  our  first-born!" 

The  following  letter  from  Mrs.  Booth  to  her  mother 
shows  how  consistently  she  adhered  to  her  principles 
in  regard  to  her  children's  dress,  and  this  from  their 
very  infancy: 

"  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  you  were  so  poorly.  Do  not  sit  putin 
so  close  at  work."  (Mrs.  Mumford  was  especially  skilful  with  dress. 
her  needle.  Some  graceful  specimens  of  her  handiwork  have 
been  preserved  with  care  and  are  now  worn  by  her  infant 
greatrgrandchildren. )  "  I  am  certain  you  are  injuring  your- 
self by  it,  and  it  is  such  folly  when  I  do  not  desire  it,  and 
when  the  things  that  cost  you  the  most  labour  lie  in  the 
drawers,  and  are  seldom  worn,  simply  because  they  are  /oo 
handsome.  What  will  you  say  when  I  tell  you  that  the  beau- 
tiful frock  you  brought  Willie  has  never  been  on  him  yet,  and 
I  am  now  altering  it  a  little,  to  make  it  less  showy,  so  that  he 
may  wear  it  at  the  tea-meeting  on  Easter  Monday.? 

"  You  see,  my  dear  mother,  William  speaks  so  plainly  on  j^^^^  ■ 
the  subject  of  dress,  that  it  would  be  the  most  glaring  incon-  tency. 
sistency  if  I  were  to  deck  out  my  children  as  the  worldlings 
do.  And,  besides,  I  find  it  would  be  dangerous  for  their  own 
sakes.  The  seed  of  vanity  is  too  deeply  sown  in  the  young 
heart  for  me  to  dare  to  cultivate  it.  I  confess  it  requires 
some  self-denial  to  abstain  from  making  them  as  beautiful 
as  they  might  be  made  to  look.  But  oh !  if  God  should  take 
them  from  me  I  should  never  regret  it,  and  if  He  spares  them 
I  trust  that  He  will  grant  them  the  more  of  that  inward 
adorning  which  is  in  His  sight  of  great  price. 

"  Don't  think  I  undervalue  your  kindness.     I  am  most  grate-    Value  the 
ful  for  all  you  have  done  for  them.     Only  I  want  you  to  mod-   ''''"^"^««- 


330 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1859, 
Age  30. 


Sowing 
the  seeds 
of  vanity. 


Mrs. 

Booth  on 

dress. 


The  lace 
tippet. 


Renounc- 
ing the 
world. 


ify  it.  There  is,  you  know,  a  great  difference  between  a  plain 
coat,  without  a  bit  of  work  at  all  upon  it,  and  one  which 
would  set  everybody  admiring  and  saying,  'I  should  think  it 
would  be  five  shillings  a  yard!'  I  am  sure  you  will  not  mis- 
understand either  what  I  say  or  the  motive  which  prompts 
me  to  say  it." 

Who  can  tell  how  many  careless  mothers  sow  in 
their  children's  hearts  the  seeds  of  worldliness,  and 
reap  an  after  harvest  of  the  most  painful  kind!  Ah, 
what  sins  and  sorrows,  what  failures  and  disasters, 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  wrong  teachings  of  a 
nursery,  and,  on  the  contrary,  how  many  a  noble 
character  has  been  shaped  within  its  precincts  by  the 
wise  hand  of  a  watchful  mother!  Referring,  many 
years  subsequently,  to  the  question  of  simplicity  in 
dress,  Mrs.  Booth  remarks: 

"  Associated  with  my  very  earliest  ideas  of  religion  was  the 
necessity  for  plainness  of  dress.  It  seemed  to  me  clear  from 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible  that  Christ's  people  should  be 
separate  from  the  world  in  everything  which  denoted  char- 
acter, and  that  they  should  not  only  be  separate  but  appear  so. 
Otherwise  what  benefit  would  their  separation  confer  upon 
the  others? 

"  I  remember  feeling  condemned,  when  quite  a  child,  not 
more  than  eight  years  old,  at  having  to  wear  a  lace  tippet 
such  as  was  fashionable  in  those  days.  P'rom  a  worldly  point 
of  view  it  would  have  been  considered,  no  doubt,  very  neat  and 
consistent.  But  on  several  occasions  I  had  good  crying  fits 
over  it.  Not  only  did  I  instinctively  feel  it  to  be  immodest, 
because  people  could  see  through  it,  but  I  thought  it  was  not 
such  as  a  Christian  child  should  wear. 

"  As  I  advanced  in  religious  experience  I  became  more  and 
more  convinced  that  my  appearance  ought  to  be  such  as  to 
show  to  everybody  with  whom  I  came  in  contact  that  I  had 
renounced  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world,  and  that  I  be- 
longed to  Christ.  Had  the  church  to  which  I  belonged  worn  a 
uniform  I  should  joyfully  have  adopted  it.  I  always  felt  that 
it  was  mean  to  be  ashamed  of  Christ  in  the  street  or  among 


GA  TESHEAD. 


331 


His  enemies.  And  it  was  only  in  conformity  to  the  opinions 
of  those  whom  I  regarded  as  my  superiors  in  wisdom  and  grace 
that  I  conformed  to  the  world  as  much  as  I  did  in  the  matter 
of  dress. 

"  People  have  asked  me,  sometimes,  whether  we  cannot  be 
separate  from  the  world  in  our  hearts  without  being  different 
in  our  dress.  My  reply  has  been,  'What  is  the  use  to  the 
world  of  a  testimony  for  Christ  up  in  your  bedroom?  The 
very  essence  of  witnessing  for  God  before  the  world  is  that  we 
should  not  be  like  it. '  The  people  quite  recognise  this, 
whether  Christians  do  or  not.  Hence  their  contempt  for  those 
who  talk  to  them  about  religion  while  dressed  as  fashionably 
as  themselves.  They  may  listen  out  of  politeness,  but  they 
will  say  in  their  hearts,  and  often,  when  our  backs  are  turned, 
with  their  lips,  'Physician,  heal  thyself!  '  Why  does  she  come 
and  talk  to  me  about  giving  up  the  world  when  she  has  not 
done  so  herself,  at  any  rate  as  far  as  dress  is  concerned.'' '  " 

The  following  is  another  example  of  the  nursery- 
lessons  impressed  upon  her  children's  minds: 

"  Willie  is  a  generous  little  fellow.  He  has  a  money-box 
and  a  few  ha'pence  in  it.  The  other  day  we  saw  a  poor  boy 
without  shoes.  Willie  was  condoling  with  him,  so  I  asked 
him  whether  he  would  rather  buy  some  barley  sugar  with  his 
money  or  give  it  to  the  child.  He  said  without  hesitation, 
'  Give  it  to  the  poor  boy,  mamma. '  I  felt  very  grateful  for  the 
generous  impulse  manifested.  Oh  for  wisdom  to  train  it 
aright  and  make  it  the  handmaid  of  principle,  for  the  gener- 
osity of  mere  impulse  is  of  little  worth !" 

It  was  an  interesting  lesson  in  finance  for  the  future 
administrator  of  a  great  organisation's  revenue.  The 
money-box  betokened  thrift,  but  there  was  no  sin  on 
the  face  of  God's  earth  against  which  Mrs.  Booth  was 
more  ready  to  take  arms  than  the  avarice  and  mean- 
ness which  are  too  often  instilled  in  the  childish 
heart.  How  many  a  grasping  and  miserly  disposition 
is  manufactured  in  a  nursery  by  means  of  unwise 
parents  who  do  not  distinguish  between  thrift  and 


1859, 
Age  30. 


The  heart 
and  dress. 


A  bed- 
room tes- 
timony. 


nursery 
lesson. 


Her 
hatred  of 
avarice. 


332  MliS.  BOOTH. 

1859,  avarice,  and  who  hope  to  counteract  evil  tendencies 
^^  ^°'  by  mere  prayers  and  Bible  lessons  as  an  antidote !  It 
was  because  Mrs.  Booth  accompanied  her  Scripture 
stories  by  such  practical  illustrations  as  the  above  that 
she  was  enabled  to  write  them  so  indelibly  upon  the 
hearts  of  her  children. 
wuue         "You  will  be  very  much  pleased  with  Willie,"  she 

pleaches  ^ 

at  three,  wrltes,  whcn  he  was  only  three  years  and  two  months 
old.  "  He  loves  to  listen  to  stories  about  Joseph, 
Moses,  Daniel,  and  the  Saviour.  Indeed,  he  can 
'p'each,'  as  he  calls  it,  very  nicely.  You  would  like 
to  hear  him  repeat,  as  he  throws  his  arms  out  and 
speaks  through  his  eyes: 

'"All  ye  that  pass  by, 
To  Jesus  draw  nigh, 
To  you  is  it  nothing  that  Jesus  should  die  ?  ' 

A  happy  He  is  a  very  good  boy  in  chapel  and  likes  to  go ! 
They  are  all  fine,  healthy,  lovable  children,  and  as 
sharp  as  needles,  and  amidst  all  the  toil  and  anxiety 
they  occasion  I  am  cheered  and  sustained  by  the  sym- 
pathy and  love  of  their  father.  William  never  was 
kinder  or  more  loving  and  attentive  than  now.  He 
often  tells  me  I  grow  more  beautiful  in  his  sight  and 
more  precious  to  his  heart  day  by  day.  I  know  it 
will  gratify  you  to  hear  that  your  Kate  is  so  highly 
prized  by  the  man  of  her  choice,  and  this  is  the  only 
reason  I  write  you  thus.  We  have  now  been  married 
four  and  a  half  years,  and  I  believe  we  love  each 
other  better  than  on  our  wedding  day.  '  Praise  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits!'  " 

A  unan-        But    deeply   as   Mrs.    Booth    was   attached    to   her 

imous  in- 
vitation,   family,    and    ably    as    she    fulfilled    the    duties    of    a 

mother,    many  circumstances    combined    about    this 

period    to    direct    her    energies    into    a    more    public 


GATESHEAD.  m 

Sphere.  Mr.  Booth  had  long  been  convinced  that  she  1859, 
was  peculiarly  fitted  to  address  large  audiences.  &®  3o. 
Others  shared  the  opinion.  "I  received  a  unanimous 
invitation,"  writes  Mrs.  Booth,  in  September,  1859, 
"from  our  Leaders'  meeting  the  other  night  to  give 
an  address  at  the  special  prayer-meetings  this  week. 
Of  course  I  declined.  I  don't  knov/  what  they  can  be 
thinking  of!" 

But,  although  for  some  time  longer  Mrs.  Booth  still  Another 
found  it  impossible  to  overcome  her  timidity  in  this  ojKms. 
direction,  another  path  of  usefulness  opened  out  be- 
fore her  in  an  unexpected  manner,  which  was,  perhaps, 
the  best  possible  preparation  for  the  public  ministry 
that  was  soon  to  take  its  place.  We  cannot  do  better 
than  describe  it  in  her  own  words : 

"One  Sabbath  I  was  passing  down  a  narrow.  Her  own 
thickly  populated  street  on  my  way  to  chapel,  antici-  ^^''uolu' 
pating  an  evening's  enjoyment  for  myself,  and  hop- 
ing to  see  some  anxious  ones  brought  into  the  King- 
dom, when  I  chanced  to  look  up  at  the  thick  rows  of 
small  windows  above  me  where  numbers  of  women 
were  sitting,  peering  through  at  the  passers  by  or 
listlessly  gossiping  with  each  other. 

"It  was  suggested  to  my  mind,. with  gfreat  power,     compel 

00  y  0  jr  them  to 

'Would  you  not  be  doing  God  more  service,  and  act-  <^'omein. 
ing  more  like  your  Redeemer,  by  turning  into  some 
of  these  houses,  speaking  to  these  careless  sinners, 
and  inviting  them  to  the  service,  than  by  going  to 
enjoy  it  yourself?'  I  was  startled;  it  was  a  new 
thought;  and  while  I  was  reasoning  about  it  the 
same  inaudible  interrogator  demanded,  'What  effort 
do  Christians  put  forth  answerable  to  the  command, 
Compel  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be 
filled?' 

"This  was  accompanied  with  a  light  and  unction 


334  MJ^S.   BOOTH. 

1859,      which  I  knew  to  be  Divine.    •  I  felt  greatly  agitated. 

^^  ^°*    I   felt  verily  guilty.     I  knew  that  I  had  never  thus 

She  obeys  laboured  to  bring  lost  sinners  to  Christ,  and,  trembling 

the  call,    ^^j^]-^  ^  sense  of  my  utter  weakness,  I  stood  still  for  a 

moment,   looked  up    to  heaven,    and  said,    'Lord,   if 

Thou  wilt  help  me,  I  will  try;'  and,  without  stopping 

longer  to  confer  with  flesh  and  blood,  turned  back 

and  commenced  my  work. 

The  first        "I  spoke  first  to  a  group  of  women  sitting  on  a 

effort . 

doorstep ;  and  oh !  what  that  effort  cost  me  words 
cannot  describe ;  but  the  Spirit  helped  my  infirmities 
and  secured  for  me  a  patient  and  respectful  hearing, 
with  a  promise  from  some  of  them  to  attend  the  house 
of  God.  This  much  encouraged  me;  I  began  to  taste 
the  joy  which  lies  hidden  under  the  cross,  and  to 
realise,  in  some  faint  degree,  that  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive.  With  this  timely,  loving 
The  next  cordial  from  my  Master  I  went  on  to  the  next  group, 
g)oitp.  ^^-^Q  were  standing  at  the  entrance  of  a  low,  dirty 
court.  Here,  again,  I  was  received  kindly,  and  prom- 
ises were  given.  No  rude  repulse,  no  bitter  ridicule 
were  allowed,  to  shake  my  new-found  confidence  or 
chill  my  feeble  zeal.  I  began  to  realise  that  my  Mas- 
ter's feet  were  behind  me ;  nay,  before  me — smooth- 
ing my  path  and  preparing  my  way. 
Contin-  "  This  blcsscd  assurance  so  increased  my  courage 
cess.  and  enkindled  my  hope  that  I  ventured  to  knock  at 
the  door  of  the  next  house,  and,  when  it  was  opened, 
to  go  in  and  speak  to  the  inmates  of  Jesus,  death, 
judgment,  and  eternity.  The  man,  who  appeared  to 
be  one  of  the  better  class  of  mechanics,  seemed  to  be 
much  interested  and  affected  by  my  words,  and  prom- 
ised with  his  wife  to  attend  the  revival  services 
which  were  being  held  at  the  chapel. 

"  With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  and  eyes  full  of  tears 


GATESHEAD.  335 

I  was  thinking-  where   I   should  go  next,  when  I  ob-      1859, 

-, .  , .    .     .  T  ^  Age  30. 

served  a  woman  standing  on  an  adjoining  doorstep 

with  a  jug  in  her  hand.  My  divine  Teacher  said,  a  dmnk- 
' Speak  to  that  woman. '  Satan  suggested,  '  Perhaps  she  "wi/f, 
is  intoxicated;'  but  after  a  momentary  struggle  I  in- 
troduced myself  to  her  by  saying,  'Are  the  people  out 
who  live  on  this  floor?'  observing  that  the  lower  part  of 
the  house  was  closed.  'Yes,'  she  said,  'they  are  gone 
to  chapel;'  and  I  thought  I  perceived  a  weary  sadness 
in  her  voice  and  manner.  I  said,  'Oh,  I  am  so  glad 
to  hear  that ;  how  is  it  that  you  are  not  gone  to  a 
place  of  worship?'  'Me?'  she  said,  looking  down 
upon  her  forlorn  appearance;  'I  can't  go  to  chapel;  I 
am  kept  at  home  by  a  drunken  husband.  I  have  to  ^^^JJ^^^^ 
stop  with  him  to  keep  him  from  the  public-house,  and 
I  have  just  been  fetching  him  some  drink.'  I  ex- 
pressed my  sorrow  for  her,  and  asked  if  I  might  come 
in  and  see  her  husband.  '  No, '  she  said,  '  he  is  drunk ; 
you  could  do  nothing  with  him  now.'  I  replied,  'I  do 
not  mind  his  being  drunk,  if  you  will  let  me  come  in ; 
I  am  not  afraid;  he  will  not  hurt  me.'  'Well,'  said 
the  woman,  'you  can  come  if  you  like;  but  he  will 
only  abuse  you.'  I  said,  'Never  mind  that,'  and  fol- 
lowed her  up  the  stairs. 

"  I  felt  strong  now  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  strong  in 
of  His  might,  and  as  safe  as  a  babe  in  the  arms  of  its 
mother.  I  realised  that  I  was  in  the  path  of  obedi- 
ence, and  I  feared  no  evil.  Oh  how  much  the  Lord's 
people  lose  through  disobedience  to  the  leadings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit !  If  they  would  only  hrp  His  %vords 
He  would  dwell  with  them,  and  then  they  need  fear 
neither  men  nor  devils. 

"  The  woman  led  me  to  a  small  room  on  the  first  Dealing 
floor,  where  I  found  a  fine,  intelligent  man,  about  drunk- 
forty,  sitting  almost  double  in  a  chair,  with  a  jug  by 


336  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1859,  his  side  out  of  which  he  had  been  drinking  that 
^^  ^°'  which  had  reduced  him  beneath  the  level  of  the  beasts 
that  perish.  I  leaned  on  my  heavenly  Guide  for 
strength  and  wisdom,  love  and  power,  and  He  gave  me 
all  I  needed.  He  silenced  the  demon,  strong  drink, 
and  quickened  the  man's  perceptions  to  receive  my 

He  listens,  words.  As  I  began  to  talk  to  him,  with  my  heart  full 
of  sympathy,  he  gradually  raised  himself  in  his  chair 
and  listened  with  a  surprised  and  half-vacant  stare. 
I  spoke  to  him  of  his  present  deplorable  condition,  of 
the  folly  and  wickedness  of  his  course,  of  the  inter- 
ests of  his  wife  and  children,  until  he  was  thoroughly 
aroused  from  the  stupor  in  which  I  found  him. 

A  ivretch-  "  During  this  conversation  his  wife  wept  bitterly, 
and  by  fragments  told  me  a  little  of  their  previous 
histor3\  I  found  that  she  had  once  known  the  Lord 
but  had  allowed  herself  to  be  dragged  down  by  trouble, 
had  cast  away  her  confidence,  and  fallen  into  sin. 
She  told  me  that  her  husband  had  a  brother  in  the 
Wesleyan  .ministry  who  had  done  all  that  a  brother 
could  to  save  him;  that  they  had  buried  a  daughter 
two  years  before,  who  died  triumphantly  in  the  Lord, 
and  besought  her  father  with  her  dying  breath  to 
leave  off  drinking  and  prepare  to  meet  her  in  hea- 
ven;  that  she  had  a  son,  then  about  eighteen,  who, 
she  feared,  was  going  into  a  consumption ;  that  her 
A  clever  liusband  was  a  clever  workman,  and  could  earn  three 
or  four  pounds  per  week  as  a  journeyman,  but  he 
drank  it  nearly  all,  so  that  they  were  compelled  to 
live  in  two  rooms  and  often  went  without  necessary 
food.  I  read  to  him  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son, 
while  the  tears  ran  down  his  face  like  rain.  I  then 
prayed  with  him  as  the  Spirit  gave  me  utterance,  and 
left,  promising  to  call  the  next  day  with  a  temper- 
ance-pledge book,  which  he  agreed  to  sign. 


GA  TESHEAD. 


337 


"  I  now  felt  that  my  work  was  done.  Exhausted 
in  body,  but  happy  in  soul,  I  wended  my  way  to  the 
sanctuary,  just  in  time  for  the  conclusion  of  the  ser- 
vice, and  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  the  prayer-meeting. 

"On  the  following  day  I  visited  this  man  again. 
He  signed  the  pledge,  and  listened  attentively  to  all 
I  said.  Full  of  hope  I  left  him,  to  find  others  simi- 
larly lost  and  fallen.  From  that  time  I  commenced 
a  systematic  course  of  house-to-house  visitation,  de- 
voting two  evenings  per  week  to  the  work.  The 
Lord  so  blessed  my  efforts  that  in  a  few  weeks  I  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  ten  drunkards  to  abandon  their 
soul-destroying  habits,  and  to  meet  me  once  a  week 
for  reading  the  Scriptures  and  for  prayer." 

In  a  letter  written  to  her  parents  Mrs.  Booth  de- 
scribes this  work  as  follows : 

"  I  have  commenced  my  operations  amongst  the 
drunkards.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  particulars,  but  I 
cannot  spare  time,  so  it  must  sufhce  to  say  that  I  have 
been  quite  as  successful  as  I  expected,  and  have  met 
with  nothing  but  the  greatest  civility.  I  have  visited 
two  evenings  this  week,  and  have  attended  two  cottage 
prayer-meetings  at  which  I  have  had  four  penitents. 
The  rooms  were  very  full  and  hot,  and  of  course  I 
felt  rather  knocked  up  the  next  day.  But  by  lying 
down  in  the  afternoons  I  don't  think  I  am  any  the 
worse." 

In  describing  these  visiting  experiences  afterwards 
Mrs.  Booth  says: 

"I  was  obliged  to  go  in  the  evenings,  because  it 
was  the  only  part  of  the  day  when  I  could  get  away. 
And  even  had  it  been  otherwise  I  should  not  have 
found  the  men  at  home  any  other  time.  I  used  to  ask 
one  drunkard's  wife  where  another  lived.  They  al- 
ways knew.     After  getting  hold  of  eight  or  ten  in 


1859, 
Age  30. 


Happy  in 
soul. 


Siqyiing 

'the 
pledge. 


Rescuing 

the 
drunk- 
ards. 


How  to 
do  it. 


338 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1 859, 
Age  30. 


.4.  pitiable 
case, 


"Lard 
isted  o' 
bootter." 


Washing 
the  twins 
in  a  pie- 
dish. 


Trying 
work. 


this  way,  and  persuading  them  to  sign  the  pledge,  I 
used  to  arrange  a  cottage  meeting  for  them  and  then 
try  to  get  them  saved.  They  used  to  let  me  talk  to 
them  in  hovels  where  there  was  not  a  stick  of  furni- 
ture, and  nothing  to  sit  down  upon. 

"  I  remember  in  one  case  finding  a  poor  woman 
lying  on  a  heap  of  rags.  She  had  just  given  birth  to 
twins,  and  there  was  nobody  of  any  sort  to  wait  upon 
her.  I  can  never  forget  the  desolation  of  that  room. 
By  her  side  was  a  crust  of  bread,  and  a  small  lump  of 
lard.  'I  fancied  a  bit  o'  bootter  (butter),'  the  woman 
remarked  apologetically,  noticing  my  eye  fall  upon  the 
scanty  meal,  'and  my  mon,  he'd  do  owt  for  me  he 
could,  bless  'm — he  couldna  git  me  iny  bootter,  so  he 
fitcht  me  this  bit  o'  lard.  Have  yo?i  iver  tried  lard 
isted  o'  bootter?  It's  rare  good !  '  said  the  poor  crea- 
ture, making  me  wish  I  had  taken  lard  for  'bootter' 
all  my  life,  that  I  might  have  been  the  better  able  to 
minister  to  her  needs.  However,  I  was  soon  busy 
trying  to  make  her  a  little  more  comfortable.  The 
babies  I  washed  in  a  broken  pie-dish,  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  a  tub  that  I  could  find.  And  the  gratitude 
of  those  large  eyes,  that  gazed  upon  me  from  that 
wan  and  shrunken  face,  can  never  fade  from  my 
memory. 

"In  the  long  run,  however,  the  work  told  on  my 
health  a  good  deal.  The  rooms  were  often  hot  and 
close,  and  in  going  from  them  into  the  night  air  I 
caught  colds  which  finally  resulted  in  a  severe  illness. 
But  my  whole  soul  was  in  it,  and  I  became  deeply  at- 
tached to  the  drunkards  whom  I  had  been  the  means 
of  rescuing.  It  has  been  a  great  joy  and  satisfaction 
to  me  since  that  the  Salvation  Army  has  so  largely 
directed  its  efforts,  and  with  such  remarkable  success, 
to  their  reclamation." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

MRS.   BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET.      1859. 

The  Conference  of   1859  was  held  in  Manchester,     nie  sec- 
and  Mr.  Booth,  being  now  a  superintendent  minister,   Tn  Gates- 
was  entitled  to  attend.     At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  ' 
the  Circuit  officials  held  previously  to  the  Conference 
he  had  been  unanimously  prayed  to  prolong  his  stay" 
at  Gateshead  for  another  year.     For  this  he  was  very 
unwilling.     His  heart  was  still  set  upon  the  evange- 
listic work.     Writing  to  her  mother  Mrs.  Booth  says: 

"  I  have  fully  and  formally  consented  to  let  William  go  Longing 
forth  as  an  evangelist  on  condition  tha  the  concentrates  his  f*^^'  reviv- 
efforts  on  one  district  at  a  time,  making  his  home  in  some 
central  town  and  working  the  surrounding  circuits,  so  that  I 
shall  see  him  at  least  once  a  week.  He  now  thinks  of  writing 
to  the  Annual  Committee,  making  certain  proposals  to  them, 
and  asking  their  advice  as  to  how  to  proceed  at  the  next  Con- 
ference. If  they  decline  to  employ  him  as  before  in  the  capac- 
ity of  an  evangelist,  he  will  ask  to  be  allowed  to  retain  his 
standing  amongst  them  and  to  be  left  at  liberty  to  accept 
invitations  wherever  they  may  offer,  raising  his  salary  as  he 
can." 

The  Gateshead  officials  were,  however,  importunate.  The  inl- 
and would  not  take  a  "no,"  They  urged  upon  him  ^^officiais^ 
the  advantages  of  remaining  for  another  year,  with  a 
view  to  solidifying  the  results  of  his  previous  labours, 
thus  establishing  the  young  converts  in  the  faith, 
permanently  I'^'ting  the  condition  of  the  Circuit,  and 
effectually  clo;    ig  the  mouths  of  those  whose  principal 

339 


340 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1 859, 
Age  30. 

Attending 
his  first 
Confer- 
ence. 


The  de- 
bate on 
foreign 
missions. 


The  tem- 
perance 
question. 


A  good 

7'esolu- 

tion. 


objection  to  revival  work  had  been  that  the  results 
were  evanescent. 

It  was  with  feelings  of  considerable  curiosity  and 
interest  that  Mr.  Booth  attended  the  ensuing  Confer- 
ence. It  proved,  however,  to  be  a  melancholy  disap- 
pointment, and  he  was  glad  to  reach  home  again.  To 
one  of  his  practical  nature  the  debates  and  resolutions^ 
appeared  desultory  and  unsatisfactory. 

"The  Conference  drags  its  weary  length  along,"  he  writes 
from  Manchester.  "  Not  much  that  is  interesting  and  not 
much  that  is  disagreeable.  We  are  at  present  engaged  on 
missionary  business.  Messrs.  Gilton,  Wright  and  McCurdy 
have  spoken  in  favour  of  a  foreign  mission — Mr.  Whittaker 
against  it.  I  shall  not  trouble  myself  on  the  controversy.  The 
feeling  runs  high. 

"Later — Foreign  mission  just  carried  all  but  unanimously." 

The  monotony  of  the  debates  was,  however,  partially 
enlivened  by  the  occurrence  of  an  incident  in  which 
Mr.  Booth  took  a  more  active  part. 

"I  had  been  selected  by  the  Conference,"  he  writes,  "to 
form  one  of  a  Committee  to  receive  a  deputation  from  the 
United  Kingdom  Alliance,  whose  object  is  to  secure  by  legis- 
lation the  opportunity  for  the  people  to  decide  whether  or  no 
they  will  have  a  public-house  in  their  vicinity.  The  deputa- 
tion was  met  by  us  and  the  matter  discussed  and  reported  on 
to  the  Conference.  Desiring  to  give  a  practical  turn  to  what 
is  ordinarily  but  a  useless  discussion,  resulting  in  nothing  be- 
yond the  utterance  of  a  few  rapid  eulogiums,  I  proposed  that 
we  should  give  expression  to  our  abhorrence  of  the  liquor 
traffic  by  passing  a  resolution  that  henceforth  no  one  who 
was  actively  engaged  in  it  should  be  accepted  as  a  member  of 
our  Church.  This  appeared  to  me,  and  to  several  others  who 
had  strong  temperance  affinities,  a  very  simple  and  harmless 
step  in  the  direction  of  purging  the  Connexion  from  its  .com- 
plicity in  what  it  acknowledged  to  be  a  crying  evil.  I  did  not 
ask  that  all  members  should  be  teetotalers,  nor  even  that  the 
publicans  who  were  already  members  of  the  Society,  some 


MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET. 


341 


of  them  holding-  offices  of  considerable  influence,  should  be 
expelled,  but  simply  that  our  doors  should  in  future  be  closed 
against  those  who  were  engaged  in  carrying  on  the  traffic. 

"  The  proposition  met,  however,  with  the  most  vigorous  op- 
position. One  minister,  to  show  how  undeserving  ^were  the 
publicans  of  receiving  such  an  affront,  mentioned  the  case  of 
a  lady  who  kept  an  infamous  dram-drinking  establishment. 
Yet  so  careful  was  she  lest  her  children  should  be  contam- 
inated by  its  evil  influences  that,  when  her  daughters  came 
home  for  the  vacation  from  their  boarding  school,  she  took 
them  lodgings  at  another  house !  To  this  I  gave  the  natural 
reply  that  the  lady  in  question  only  aggravated  her  offence  by 
inflicting  on  others  the  evils  which  she  was  unwilling  her  own 
family  should  encounter. 

"  This  observation  was  strongly  resented,  and  in  the  little 
hubbub  that  ensued  my  motion  was  defeated  by  an  over- 
whelming majority.  I  believe  this  was  the  only  resolution 
that  I  ever  sought  to  impose  upon  the  Conference." 


1859, 
Ago  30. 


A  sharp 
debate. 


The  mo- 
tion de- 
feated. 


Nevertheless,  it  was  a  useful  experience.  As  Con- 
ferences go,  the  one  that  Mr.  Booth  attended  was  no 
doubt  a  favourable  specimen.  But  he  felt  like  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  might  have  been  expected  to  feel 
supposing  Waterloo  had  been  prefaced  by  a  parlia- 
ment of  officers  elected  by  the  soldiery  and  held  upon 
the  battle-field !  Its  argumentations  and  legislations 
would  have  been  adm.irably  suited  for  the  peaceful 
courts  of  Westminster  and  the  placid  waters  of  the 
Thames,  but  to  carry  about  a  huge  debating  machine 
in  face  of  an  active  and  enterprising  enemy  would 
have  been  altogether  out  of  place  and  could  only  have 
ensured  defeat.  The  duty  of  the  House  of  Commons 
had  been  to  decide  in  favour  of  peace  or  war.  They 
had  done  it. 

And  now  it  was  for  debate  to  give  place  to  a  totally 
different  regime,  in  which  liberty  should  be  sacrificed 
for  unity  that  unity  might  in  the  end  secure  the 
greater  liberty.     The  universal  danger  was  to  be  the 


Debating 
on  the 
battle- 
field. 


The  nde 
of  war. 


342  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1859,  universal  bond.  The  mediocrities  might  mismanage 
^^  ^°'  peace,  but  superiority  was  to  take  the  lead  in  war. 
Authority  was  to  be  released  from  its  constitutional 
iron  cage  in  order  to  secure  victory  at  all  costs.  Dis- 
obedience was  to  be  branded  as  mutiny  and  its  faint- 
est whispers  drowned  in  blood.  The  wig  and  gown 
were  to  be  replaced  by  helmet  and  knapsack,  and  the 
well-ordered  precincts  of  the  Law  Courts  by  the 
rough  and  ready  drumhead.  The  barracks  were  to 
be  exchanged  for  the  tent,  the  parade-ground  for  the 
battle-field,  the  blank  cartridge  for  the  deadly  cannon- 
ball,  the  constable's  baton  for  the  soldier's  bayonet. 
At  such  a  moment,  when  a  nation's  destiny  was 
trembling  in  the  scales,  to  debate  would  be  to  delay,  to 
delay  would  be  to  perish. 
Was  it  Mr.  Booth  left  the  Conference  with  a  dim  feeling  of 
whiief  dissatisfaction,  and  a  wonderment  as  to  whether  the 
results  accomplished  had  been  worth  the  expenditure 
of  time  and  strength.  True,  mighty  interests  had 
been  discussed.  But  the  practical  outcome  had  been 
little  more  than  the  dispatch  of  a  solitary  missionary 
to  the  foreign  field,  while  against  the  advancing  forces 
of  drink  no  greater  obstacle  had  been  opposed  than  an 
empty  fusilade  of  formal  compliments. 
A  year  of  But  this  only  added  to  the  satisfaction  with  which 
he  turned  once  more  to  the  activities  of  the  battle-field. 
The  Gateshead  prospects  were  indeed  encouraging. 
During  the  past  year  the  membership  of  Bethesda 
Chapel  had  increased  from  thirty-nine  to  three  hun- 
dred, while  the  Sunday  congregations  filled  the  place. 
Revivals  were  also  spreading  in  several  of  the  outlying 
districts,  such  as  Sheriff  Hill,  Felling  Shore,  and 
Mount  Pleasant. 
A  turn-  g^t  the  coming  year  was  to  prove  an  historical  turn- 
ing-point   concerning  the  importance  of  which  Mr. 


progress. 


ing-point. 


MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET         343 


and  Mrs.  Booth  had  themselves  no  conception.  It  was 
a  singular  Providence  which  at  length  impelled  Mrs. 
Booth  to  emerge  from  the  comparative  obscurity  of 
home-life  and  to  embrace  the  arduous  responsibilities 
of  her  public  career.  What  the  persuasions  of  her 
husband  and  friends  had  failed  to  induce  her  to  un- 
dertake the  taunts  and  denunciations  of  opposition 
were  to  be  largely  instrumental  in  forcing  upon  her. 

It  was  in  December,  1859,  that  Mrs.  Booth's  atten- 
tion was  drawn  to  a  pamphlet  written  by  a  neighbour- 
ing minister,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Augustus  Rees,  in 
which  the  right  of  woman  to  preach  was  violently  at- 
tacked on  Scriptural  grounds.  The  occasion  for  this 
onslaught  was  the  visit  of  the  American  evangelists. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer,  who  were  holding  services  at 
the  time  in  Newcastle.  The  Doctor  himself  was 
an  earnest,  good-natured,  easy-going  personage.  But 
the  principal  figure  in  the  meetings  was  his  wife. 
Mrs.  Palmer  was  a  remarkable  woman,  intellectual, 
original,  and  devoted.  As  a  speaker  her  chief  attrac- 
tion lay  in  her  simplicity,  and  in  the  striking  illustra- 
tions with  which  her  addresses  were  interspersed. 
Aiming  directly  at  the  hearts  of  her  hearers,  and  rely- 
ing evidently  upon  the  co-operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  she  became  a  rallying-point  for  all  that  was 
best  and  most  earnest  in  the  churches.  Mrs.  Booth 
had  been  unable  to  attend  the  meetings,  but  reports 
of  them  had  from  time  to  time  reached  her,  and  the 
fact  that  a  woman  was  the  prominent  agent  in  this 
movement  had  deeply  interested  her.  Hence  she  had 
no  sooner  heard  of  the  pamphlet  published  by  Mr. 
Rees  than  her  soul  was  stirred  to  its  deepest  centre. 

The  replies  which  were  issued  by  Mrs.  Palmer's 
friends  and  supporters  "do  not,"  writes  Mrs.  Booth 
to  her  mother  "deal  with  the  question  at  all  to  my 


1 859, 
Age  30. 


Dr.  Rees 
attacks 

woman'' s 
right  to 

preach. 


Mrs. 
Phoebe 
Palmer. 


Uncalled- 
for  ad- 
missions 


344  MRS.   BOOTH. 

1859,  satisfaction.  They  make  so  many  uncalled-for  admis- 
Age  30.  ^^^^^^  ^^^^  J  would  almost  as  soon  answer  her  defenders 
as  her  opponent.  I  send  you  by  this  post  Mr.  Rees* 
notable  production.  It  was  delivered  in  the  form  of 
an  address  to  his  congregation  and  repeated  a  second 
time  by  request  to  a  crowded  chapel,  and  then  pub- 
lished !  Would  you  believe  that  a  congregation  half 
composed  of  ladies  could  sit  and  hear  such  self-de- 
preciatory rubbish?  They  really  don't  deserve  to  be 
taken  up  cudgels  for! 
Contem-        "  Mr.  Rccs  was  once  a  Church  clergyman,  and  is  now 

plates  lee-  ,  ^  .     .  .   ,  j_-  r^ 

turing.  an  Independent  mmister  with  a  congregation  ot  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  people.  I  hear  he  talks  of  pub- 
lishing another  pamphlet.  I  hope  he  will  wait  a  bit 
till  I  am  stronger!  And  if  he  does  bring  out  any 
more  in  the  same  style,  I  rather  think  of  going  to 
Sunderland  and  delivering  an  address  in  answer  to 
him.  William  says  I  should  get  a  crowded  house.  I 
really  think  I  shall  try,  if  he  does  not  let  us  ladies 
alone!  I  am  sure  I  could  do  it.  That  subject  would 
warm  me  up  anywhere  and  before  anybody.  William 
The  Gen-  is  always  pestering  me  to  begin  giving  lectures,  and 

tersher.    Certainly  this  would  be  a  good  subject  to  start  with. 
I  am  determined  that  he  shall  not  go  unanswered." 
In  referring  aefain  to  Mr.  Rees'  pamphlet  Mrs.  Booth 

''Female  t>     &  jr         r 

min-      subsequently  writes  to  her  mother : 

"  I  am,  after  all,  publishing  a  pamphlet  in  reply.  It 
has  been  a  great  undertaking  for  me,  and  is  much 
longer  than  I  at  first  intended,  being  thirty-two  pages. 
When  William  came  home  and  heard  what  I  had 
written  he  was  very  pleased  with  it,  and  urged  me  to 
proceed,  and  not  tie  myself  for  space  but  deal 
thoroughly  with  the  subject,  making  a  tract  on  female 
ministry  which  would  survive  this  controversy.  It 
is  now  pretty  well  known  that  a  lady  has  tackled  him, 


MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET.         345 

and  there  is  consequently  the  more  speculation  and      1859, 
curiosity  abroad.     I  hope  I  have  done  it  well.     You    ^^  ^°" 
must  send  me  your  honest  and  unbiassed  criticism,  as 
I  may  have  to  enter  the  field  again,  if  spared. 

"There  is  one  thing  which  is  due  to  myself,  I  Oriyinui. 
think,  to  tell  you  that,  whatever  may  be  its  merit,  it 
is  my  own,  and  far  more  original,  I  believe,  than  most 
things  that  are  published,  for  I  could  get  no  help  from 
any  quarter.  William  has  done  nothing  beyond  copy-  hoiv  it 
ing  for  me,  and  transposing  two  or  three  sentences,  tvrmen. 
I  composed  more  than  half  of  it  while  he  was  away, 
and  when  he  came  home  he  began  to  copy  what  I  had 
written  while  I  lay  on  the  sofa  and  read  it  to  him. 
Then  when  he  went  out  to  his  duties  I  resumed 
writing  my  rough  matter,  so  that  it  has  all  been 
written  by  my  own  hand  first.  I  have  been  at  it 
from  seven  in  the  morning  till  eleven  at  night  most 
of  the  week,  so  I  leave  you  to  judge  how  I  am  feel- 
ing. In  fact  I  don't  believe  I  could  have  done  another 
stroke." 

It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  religion  that  its  ex-    Sodetifs 
ponents  have  so   frequently  endeavoured  to  accom-      £«". 
plish  their  ends  by  trampling  on  the  laws  of  nature. 
God  made  man  as  dependent  on  woman  as  woman  is 
on  man.     Society  was  founded    by  Him  on  a    twin 
basis,    the   recognition   of  which   is   necessary  to  its 
success  and  happiness.      Humanity,  and  above  all  re- 
ligion,   requires   a  double    motive   force.     A    church 
with  one  wing  folded  cannot  fly;   with  one  foot  par- 
alysed cannot  walk ;   with  one  arm  motionless  can  do 
but  half  its  work ;  with  its  starboard  oars  all  shipped 
will  move  in  a  perpetual  circle  and  make  but  poor  ad-  a  perpet- 
vance.     We  plead  for  more  labourers  in  the  world's  ""''■"■''^^• 
great  harvest,  but  they  must  be  wni  !     If  the   Holy 
Ghost  sends  troops  of  inspired  women,  the  fields  of 


346  MRS.   BOOTH. 

i8s9,      more  than  half  Christendom  are  fenced  with  thorns 
^^^  ^°'    to  prevent  their  entrance,  though  the  crops  fall  rotting 

on   the    ground   and    the   multitudes   are   famishing 

vv'ithin  sight  and  reach  of  plenty ! 
Nature's        Nature  has  made  her  purpose  plain  enough  to  be 
purpose.    g.^^gpg^   |jy  ^j^g  dullest  comprehension.     She  surely 

would  not  have  wasted  public  capacities  and  gifts  of 
eloquence  on  woman  had  she  not  intended  them  to  be 
used.  She  is  not  so  prodigal  of  her  works.  Had  she 
intended  trees  to  move  she  would  surely  have  endowed 
them  with  some  sort  of  means  for  locomotion.  Had 
she  intended  woman  to  be  silent  she  would  surely 
have  produced  her  dumb,  or  at  least  with  but  the 
power  to  whisper.  And  when  we  speak  of  Nature, 
what  is  it  but  a  euphemism  for  God  ?  How  prepos- 
terous is  it  to  suppose  that  He  would  have  pursued  so 
obviously  self-contradictory  a  course  as  to  gift  woman 
with  peculiar  powers  and  in  the  same  breath  forbid 
their  use ! 
Man's  And  yet,  strangely  enough,  this  pious  fraud  of  man 
fraud,  on  woman's  rights  is  defended  and  concealed  with 
mis-applied  passages  of  Scripture.  Nothing  is  easier 
than  to  separate  a  verse  or  two  from  their  original 
context  and  flourish  them  in  defence  of  any  error  that 
ever  existed.  But  this  is  the  merest  casuistry.  The 
Bible  is  its  own  interpreter.  One  passage  cannot  be 
taken  in  a  sense  which  contradicts  the  spirit  of  its 
entire  teaching,  but  must  be  reconciled  with  the  rest. 
Such  contradictions  are  only  superficial  and  apparent, 
after  all,  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  when  wind  and 
current  happen  to  be  opposed.  They  dash  against 
each  other  as  if  to  destroy,  but  only  to  unite.  The 
foam  and  froth  upon  the  surface  quickly  drift  away, 
leaving  an  abiding  union. 

A  few  quotations  from   Mrs.  Booth's  pamphlet  will 


MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET. 


347 


suffice  to  show  how  erroneous  has  been  the  ordinarily      1859, 
accepted  view  in  regard  to  female  ministry :  ^^  ^°' 


"  Whether  the  Church  will  allow  women  to  speak  in  /ler  as- 
semblies can  only  be  question  of  time;  common  sense,  public 
opinion,  and  the  blessed  results  of  female  agency  will  force 
her  to  give  us  an  honest  and  impartial  rendering  of  the  soli- 
tary text  on  which  she  grounds  her  prohibitions.  Then,  when 
the  true  light  shines  and  God's  words  take  the  place  of  man's 
traditions,  the  Doctor  of  Divinity  who  shall  teach  that  Paul 
commands  woman  to  be  silent  when  God's  Spirit  urges  her  to 
speak  will  be  regarded  much  the  same  as  we  should  regard 
an  astronomer  who  should  teach  that  the  sun  is  the  earth's 
satellite. 

"  As  to  the  obligation  devolving  on  woman  to  labour  for 
her  Master,  I  presume  there  will  be  no  controversy.  The 
particular  sphere  in  which  each  individual  shall  do  this  must 
be  dictated  by  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  gifts 
with  which  God  has  endowed  her.  If  she  have  the  necessary 
gifts,  and  feels  herself  called  by  the  Spirit  to  preach,  there  is 
not  a  single  word  in  the  whole  book  of  God  to  restrain  her, 
but  many,  very  many,  to  urge  and  encourage  her.  God  says 
she  SHALL  do  so,  and  Paul  prescribed  the  manner  in  which  she 
shall  do  it,  and  Phoebe,  Junia,  Philip's  four  daughters,  and 
many  other  women  actually  did  preach  and  speak  in  the  prim- 
itive churches.  If  this  had  not  been  the  case,  there  would 
have  been  less  freedom  under  the  new  than  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation ;  a  greater  paucity  of  gifts  and  agencies  under  the 
Spirit  than  under  the  law ;  fewer  labourers  when  more  work 
was  to  be  done.  Instead  of  the  destruction  of  caste  and  division 
between  the  priesthood  and  the  people,  and  the  setting  up  of 
a  spiritual  kingdom  in  which  all  true  believers  were  'kings 
and  priests  unto  God,'  the  division  would  have  been  more 
stringent  and  the  disabilities  of  the  common  people  greater. 
Whereas,  we  are  told  again  and  again  in  effect,  that  in  'Christ 
Jesus  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female,  but  ye 
are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus. ' 

"  We  commend  a  few  passages  bearing  on  the  ministrations 
of  woman  to  the  careful  consideration  of  our  readers. 

"Jesus  said  to  the  two  Mary's,  'All  hail!'  And  they  came 
and  held  Him  by  the  feet,  and  worshipped  Him.     'Then  said 


The  pam- 
phlet. 


The  obli- 
gation to 
work. 


The  New 
Testa- 
ment 
more    lib- 
erty  than 
the  old. 


Some  ex- 
amples. 


348 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1859, 
Age  30. 


Tlie  first 

preavh- 

ers. 


Where 

were  the 

7nenf 


Jesus  unto  them,  Be  not  afraid:  go,  tell  my  brethren  that  they 
go  before  me  into  Galilee.'  (Matt,  xxviii.  9,  10.)  There  are 
two  or  three  points  in  this  beautiful  narrative  to  which  we 
wish  to  call  the  attentions  of  our  readers. 

■'  First,  it  was  the  first  announcement  of  the  glorious  news 
to  a  lost  world  and  a  company  of  forsaking  disciples.  Second, 
it  was  as  public  as  the  nature  of  the  case  demanded;  and  in- 
tended ultimately  to  be  published  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Third,  Mary  was  expressly  commissioned  to  reveal  the  fact  to 
the  apostles ;  and  thus  she  literally  became  their  teacher  on 
that  memorable  occasion.  O  glorious  privilege,  to  be  allowed 
to  herald  the  glad  tidings  of  a  Saviour  risen !  How  could  it  be 
that  our  Lord  chose  a  woman  to  this  honour?  Well,  one  rea- 
son might  be  that  the  male  disciples  were  all  missing  at  the 
time.  They  all  forsook  Him  and  fled.  But  woman  was  there, 
as  she  had  ever  been,  ready  to  minister  to  her  risen,  as  to  her 
dying,  Lord. 


" '  Not  she  with  traitorous  lips  her  Saviour  stung, 
Not  she  denied  Him  with  unholy  tongue ; 
She,  whilst  apostles  shrunk,  could  danger  brave; 
Last  at  the  cross,  and  earliest  at  the  grave. ' 

Pentecost.  "  Acts  i.  14,  and  ii.  1-4.  We  are  in  the  first  of  these  pas- 
sages expressly  told  that  the  women  were  assembled  with  the 
disciples  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  and  in  the  second,  that  the 
cloven  tongues  sat  tipon  them  cac/i,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  filled 
them  a//,  and  they  spake  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance. 
It  is  nothing  to  the  point  to  argue  that  the  gift  of  tongues  was 
a  miraculous  gift,  seeing  that  the  Spirit  was  the  primary 
bestowment.  The  tongues  were  only  emblematical  of  the 
office  which  the  Spirit  was  henceforth  to  sustain  to  His  peo- 
ple. The  Spirit  was  given  alike  to  the  female  as  to  the  male 
disciple,  and  this  is  cited  by  Peter  (16-18)  as  the  peculiar 
speciality  of  the  later  dispensation.  What  a  remarkable  de- 
vice of  the  devil  that  he  has  so  long  succeeded  in  hiding  this 
characteristic  of  the  latter-day  glory !  I/e  knows,  whether  the 
Church  does  or  not,  how  eminently  detrimental  to  the  inter- 
ests of  his  kingdom  have  been  the  religious  labours  of 
woman ;  and  while  her  Seed  has  mortally  bruised  his  head,  he 
ceases  not  to  bruise  her  heel;  but  the  time  of  her  deliverance 
draweth  nigh." 


MRS.  BOOTH'S  FIRST  PAMPHLET  .       349 

It  was  well  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  were  of  one      1859, 
accord  on  this  subject,  making  it  a  cardinal  point  of       ^^  ^°* 
their  doctrine  to  assure  to  woman  the  highest  position    Woman's 
of   usefulness    that    she    was    capable    of    occupying.    ^^^'*'*^*°*^- 
They  did  not  anticipate  that  she  would  never  make 
mistakes.     Had  man  made  none?     They  did  not  wait     Not  in- 
for  every  one  to  be  a  Mrs.  Booth.     Was  every  man  a 
William  Booth?     They  realised  that  some  would  fail, 
and    even  sin.     Was  man   alone    immaculate?     But 
they  refused  to  accept  a  one-sided  and  maimed  human- 
ity, or  to  acknowledge  that  such  a  ministry  could  be 
divinely  ordained. 

Years  have  passed  since  the  issue  of  this  modest    ''Neither 

-,     r  !•  )        •    1  •     •  1         male    nor 

protest  m  defence  of  woman  s  right  to  minister  at  the  female.'' 
altar.  Precept  has  been  carried  into  practice,  and 
the  world  has  passed  its  sentence  of  approval  upon  a 
living  mighty  organisation  in  which  there  is  "  neither 
male  nor  female,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free, 
but  Christ  is  all  and  in  all." 


The 

struggle 

for  truth. 


Disturb- 
ing the 
present. 


Purifies 
the  at- 
mosphere. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
GATESHEAD,     i860. 

Conflict  is  a  necessary  medium  for  producing  con- 
viction and  arriving  at  the  truth.  There  has  never 
yet  been  a  cause,  however  excellent,  which  has  suc- 
ceeded in  converting  men  to  its  way  of  thinking  with- 
out a  struggle.  When  error  and  sin,  those  enemies 
of  humanity,  cease  to  exist,  conflict  can  afford  to 
ground  her  arms  and  disband  her  forces.  To  do  so 
sooner  would  be  the  height  of  treachery. 

It  has  been  truly  remarked  that  we  cannot  improve 
the  future  without  disturbing  the  present.  Estab- 
lished wrongs  can  only  be  put  right  by  upheavals  of 
the  public  mind  corresponding  in  some  degree  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  evil  to  be  combated.  The  gales 
that  blow  away  the  leaves  and  purify  the  air  are 
God's  disinfectants.  The  temporary  inconvenience 
and  local  damage  they  inflict  are  more  than  compen- 
sated by  the  universal  good.  Who  can  calculate  how 
many  epidemics  they  prevent?  The  air  that  is  least 
stagnant  is  most  healthy.  The  unwholesome  quiet 
of  the  "  Black  Hole"  is  the  prelude  of  suffocation. 
Better  perish  in  a  tornado  than  stifle  in  a  dungeon. 
Death,  if  postponed  for  a  while,  is  equally  sure  and 
still  more  agonising-. 

Conflict,  it  may  be  said,  is  the  purifier  of  the  moral 
atmosphere.  If  at  times  it  destroys  what  it  might 
well  have    let  alone,  the  preponderating  good  more 

350 


GATESHEAD.  351 

than  compensates  for  the  occasional  loss.      This  is      i86o, 
fully  recognised  in  the  social  and  political  world.     A       ^^  ^^' 
perpetual   battle  rages   between   society's  rights  and 
wrongs,  or  more  often  still  between  conflicting  rights ;    The  war 
between  lesser  rights  which  have  usurped  an  undue       ''^^ 
prominence,  and  the  greater  ones  which  have  been 
thrust  momentarily  into  the  background.     The  edi- 
torial commanders-in-chief  range  their  papery  legions 
upon  either  side.     Oceans  of  ink  and  tons  of  paper 
are  expended  on  each  rival  cause.     And,  if  no  better 
reason  for  conflict  remain,  hairs  must  be  split  that 
blood  may  flow. 

What  is  inevitable  in  the  social  world  is  equally  in-  Acquiesc- 
evitable  m  the  religious  sphere.  There  are  those  evil. 
who  recognise  the  necessity  for  conflict  in  the  former 
who  are  opposed  to  it  in  the  latter.  They  would 
rather  acquiesce  in  evil  than  disturb  it.  They  cry 
"Peace,  peace!"  when  there  is  no  peace,  and  they 
have  no  patience  with  those  who  break  in  upon  the 
general  quietude. 

Thus,  when  Mrs.  Booth  had  launched  her  pamphlet 
on  female  ministry,  she  found  herself  committed  to  a  potion  of 
life-long  warfare,  in  which  she  would  be  required  to    ^°"^""'- 
champion  till  death  the  cause  which  she  had  at  heart. 
The  emancipation   of    woman   from  the  thraldom  of 
custom  was  a  noble  task.      Providence  had  committed 
to  her  hand  the  playing  of   the  most  prominent  part. 
But  she  soon  found  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  fight 
her  way  through  long  lines  of  opposing  forces  before 
she  could  realise   the  accomplishment  of  her  hopes. 
"The    right  Divine"  of  men   "to  govern  wrong,"  or     Divine 
rather  to  usurp  all  the  governing  and  talking  to  them-     theory. 
selves,  had  become  too  deeply  rooted  an  idea  in  the 
churches  to  be  easily  overthrown.     A    queen  might 
sit  upon  the  throne,  but  for  a  woman  to  ascend  the 


352 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 

Crossing 
swords 

with  Dr. 
Stacey. 


Courts 
criticism. 


An  im- 
partial 
investiga- 
tion. 


pulpit,   or  occupy  the  ministerial  chair,  was,  in  the 
eyes  of  many,  a  heresy  too  rank  for  toleration. 

An  interesting  correspondence  ensued  between 
Mrs.  Booth  and  the  Rev.  J,  Stacey,  perhaps  the  best 
cultured  intellect  in  the  New  Connexion  body,  being 
principal  of  their  theological  college,  and  afterwards 
one  of  its  annual  presidents.  He  had  written  for  a 
copy  of  the  pamphlet,  and  in  sending  it  Mrs.  Booth 
accompanied  it  with  the  following  letter : 

"  I  NoRMANBY  Terrace,   Gateshead. 
"Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: — 

"  In  a  letter  received  yesterday  my  dear  husband  informs 
me  that  you  have  expressed  a  wish  to  see  my  pamphlet  on 
'Female  Teaching.'  Accordingly  I  avail  myself  of  the  privi- 
lege of  sending  you  one.  Although  I  think  I  have  succeeded 
in  answering  Mr.  Rees.  I  am  conscious  that  I  have  not  done 
anything  like  justice  to  this  very  important  subject,  and  it  is 
my  intention  shortly  to  write  on  it  again.  I  should  esteem  it 
a  great  favour,  therefore,  if  you  would  allow  me  to  trouble  you 
for  a  critical  examination  of  it  with  reference  to  a  few  con- 
troverted passages. 

"  For  my  own  part  I  desire  above  all  things  a  thorough, 
honest,  impartial  investigation  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  that  by  those  properly  qualified  for  the  work.  I  am 
deeply  convinced  that,  when  this  is  secured,  the  present  pre- 
vailing notions  with  reference  to  woman's  position  in  the 
church  will  be  driven  back  to  the  abyss  of  darkness  and  error 
from  whence  they  originally  issued,  and  that  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy to  woman — one  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of 
the  latter-day  glory — will  be  rescued  from  the  oblivion  to 
which  ignorance  and  prejudice  have  so  long  consigned  it. 

"  May  God  haste  the  day,  and  to  this  end  bless  even  the 
feeble  efforts  of  one  so  unworthy  as 

"  Your's  in  the  love  and  fellowship  of  Jesus, 

"Catherine  Booth." 


To  this  letter  Dr.  Stacey  sent  the  following  reply: 

Ay  Dear  Mrs.  Booth: — 

"  I  thank  you  cordially  for  the  pamphlet  on  female  teaching 


The 
doctor^s 
reply.      "  My  Dear  Mrs.  Booth  : 


GA  TESHEAD. 


353 


just  received.    'I  will  take  the  very  first  opportunity  of  read- 
ing it. 

"  You  will  possibly  suspect  that  my  judgment  lies  counter  to 
the  exercise  of  ministerial  functions  by  women,  though  cer- 
tainly not  in  the  general  sense  to  'female  teaching.'  This 
judgment  is  not,  I  think,  one  of  prejudice,  but  of  intelligent 
deliberation. 

"  I  shall  be  quite  willing,  however,  to  surrender  it,  if  reason 
demand  it.  I  hold  that  error  is  profitable  in  the  long  run  to 
nobody,  and  therefore  that  the  sooner  we  part  with  it  the 
better. 

"  In  a  controversy  of  this  kind,  two  things  are  indispensable : 
first,  to  clear  the  ground  by  a  vigorous  statement  of  the 
subject.  What  is  meant  by  female  teaching?  This  may  be 
narrowed  to  one  fixed,  instituted,  technical  exercise,  or  it  may 
be  enlarged  to  the  comprehension  of  all  possible  forms  and 
modes  of  teaching.  The  second  thing  is  to  determine  the 
precise  Scripture  sense  of  'prophecy.' 

"  Other  things  are  in  their  degree  needful,  such  as  the  ex- 
amination of  particular  passages,  the  relation  of  the  sexes  to 
each  other  and  to  Christianity,  etc. 

"  I  may  observe  that  Dr.  Clarke's  authority  weighs  very 
little  with  me,  as  it  has  little  weight  anywhere.  I  admire 
him  very  much  as  a  man,  but  as  a  deep  thinker,  or  as  an  ac- 
curate and  searching  scholar,  his  reputation  does  not  and  can- 
not stand  high.  He  knew  many  things  rather  than  much.  I 
make  this  remark,  because  I  think,  from  a  cursory  glance  at 
your  pamphlet,  you  quote  him  as  a  chief  authority.  But  I 
must  read  before  I  criticise. 

"  I  can  only  say  in  conclusion  that  my  frank  opinion  on  any 
passage  of  Scripture  I  may  have  studied  is  at  any  time  at 
your  service. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"J.  Stagey." 


i860, 
Age  31. 


Error 

profitable 

to  none. 


Does  not 

think 
much  of 

Dr. 
Clarke. 


Mrs.  Booth,  without  waiting  for  the  further  letter 
promised  by  Mr.  Stacey,  wrote  to  him  as  follows : 


Her 
reply. 


"Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: — 

"  I  am  sorry  to  intrude  myself  on  your  notice  again  so  soon, 
but  since  reading  your  note  I  feel  that  it  is  imperative  on  me 
23 


354 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 


The  com- 
mon-sense 
view. 


The 
prompt- 
ings of  the 
Spirit. 


An  im- 
portant 
admis- 
sion. 


grievous 
wrong. 

The  seal 
oj  silence. 


to  offer  a  word  of  explanation,  and  to  assure  you  that  I  had 
not  the  slightest  intention  of  alluding  to  yourself  in  the  refer- 
ence I  made  to  the  effects  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  on  the 
subject  in  question,  but  simply  to  the  vulgar  notions  of  the 
public  in  general.  For  yourself  I  have  always  entertained 
the  most  profound  respect  and  esteem. 

"  I  may  just  observe  that  I  did  not  quote  Dr.  Clarke  so 
much  as  a  first  authority,  as  one  who  gave  what  appears  to 
me  a  common-sense  vieiv  of  the  passages  in  question,  and  one 
which  does  not  involve  the  contradictions  so  conspicuous  in 
some  other  commentators.  However,  I  sincerely  thank  you 
for  your  criticisms,  and  shall  be  glad  to  receive  more  when 
you  have  leisure.  If  I  am  wrong,  it  is  my  judgment,  not  my 
heart.  I  am  sure  I  only  wish  to  know  the  will  of  God  and  all 
within  me  would  bow  in  silent  and  loving  acquiescence. 

"  But  oh,  sir,  how  can  it  be  that  the  promptings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  precepts  of  the  Word  should  be  in  such  direct 
antagonism  as  Mr.  Rees  makes  it  appear?  In  asking  this 
question  I  know  that  I  only  express  the  heartfelt  inquiry  of 
many  of  the  most  devoted  and  faithful  among  the  female  dis- 
ciples of  our  Lord.  For  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  it  is  not  the 
formal,  worldly-minded  professors  who  experience  these  urg- 
ings  of  the  Spirit  to  open  their  lips  for  Christ,  but  generally 
those  who  are  most  eminent  for  piety  and  unreserved  conse- 
cration to  the  service  of  their  Saviour.  Surely  there  must  be 
some  mistake  somewhere.  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  error 
lies  in  the  interpretation  and  application  of  two  isolated  pas- 
sages in  Paul's  writings. 

"  You  say,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  do  not  object  to  fe- 
male teaching  in  the  general  sense.  Then  you  admit  of  a 
qualification  of  the  passage,  'I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach;' 
for,  taken  literally,  this  forbids  all  kinds  of  teaching  what- 
ever. The  question  to  be  settled  is,  what  kind  of  qualification 
do  the  principles  and  general  bearing  of  the  New  Testament 
render  necessary?  To  my  mind,  there  is  but  one  reply.  Sup- 
pose commentators  were  to  deal  with  some  partsof  the  Epistle 
of  James  as  they  do  with  these  two  passages,  what  would  be- 
come of  the  glorious  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith? 

■'  I  cannot  but  believe  that  a  very  grievous  wrong  has  been 
inflicted  on  thousands  of  Spirit-baptised  disciples  of  Jesus 
long  since  gone  to  their  reward  by   the  seal  of  silence  ira- 


GATESHEAD. 


355 


i860, 

Age  31. 


Feeling 
keenly. 


posed  on  them   by  good  but    mistaken   men,  who    thought 
they  were  doing  God  service ! 

"  But  I  believe  the  Lord  himself  is  teaching  the  Church  her 
mistake  on  this  subject,  so  important  to  her  ultimate  triumphs. 
I  believe  thousands  of  loving,  faithful  hearts  are  pleading  for 
the  bestowment  of  the  promise  of  the  Father  on  the  hand- 
maidens as  well  as  on  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  And  God 
will  in  His  own  good  time  answer  prayer. 

"  Excuse  me,  my  dear  sir.  I  had  no  intention  of  writing  at 
such  length  when  I  commenced.  But  my  heart  is  full  of  feel- 
ing on  this  subject — not  on  my  own  account,  God  knows,  but 
because  it  does  appear  to  me  to  be  very  intimately  connected 
with  the  progress  and  triumph  of  the  blessed  Gospel,  and 
because  I  am  anxious  to  interest  in  it  one  whose  learning  and 
intelligence  might  be  so  helpful  to  the  truth,  and  in  whose 
nobility  of  soul  I  feel  I  dare  rely.  This  is  my  apology  for 
occupying  so  much  of  your  valuable  time. 

"  Yours  in  the  fellowship  of  Jesus, 

"  Catherine  Booth." 

In  replying  to  this  letter,  Dr.  Stacey  expressed 
himself  as  still  unconvinced.  At  the  same  time  he 
appreciated  fully  the  ability  manifested  by  Mrs.  Booth 
in  dealing  with  the  subject,  concluding  his  letter  by 
saying: 

"  I  trust  I  need  not  say  how  much  I  esteem  your  sympathies 
and  aims.  To  me  they  are  very  dear,  and  are  becoming  so 
more  and  more.  I  admire  intensely  your  fervour  of  spirit 
and  simplicity  of  love,  as  well  as  the  comm.and  of  English 
evinced  in  your  pamphlet." 

But,  if  there  were  few  critics  of  repute  who  sup-  j-f^^ 
ported  Mrs.  Booth's  view  at  the  time,  there  are  many  '"^\""^^y^ 
of  them  now,  and  the  more  honour  is  due  to  her  who 
so  bravely  acted  the  part  of  pioneer  and  proved  to  de- 
monstration the  truth  for  which  she  had  contended. 
Mrs.  Booth's  convictions  were  of  too  robust  a  character 
to  give  way  before  the  opposition  that  her  pamphlet 
aroused.     In  after  years,  when  she  had  reached  the 


The  doc- 
tor un- 
con- 
vinced. 


356  MRS.   BOOTH. 

i860,      zenith  of  her  success,  there  were  few  who  did  not  ad^ 
Age  31.    ^.^  -j^^^  ^^^  individtial  right  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
Claimed    although  it  was  still  argued  that  others  should  not 
*^*'for''^   follow    in    her  steps  unless    they  possessed  similar 
others,     ability.     The  fallacy  of  such  an  idea  is  not  difficult 
to  perceive.     What  would  happen  in  the  House  of 
Commons  if  a  law  were  passed  that  no  one  should 
speak  save  those  who  possessed  the  eloquence  of  a 
Gladstone?     Perhaps  the  prohibition  might  be  a  use- 
ful one.     Certainly  there  would  be  very  little  talking 
done. 
A  To  Mrs.  Booth  it  would  have  given  but  little  satis- 

^ccess.  faction  to  have  shaken  herself  free  from  the  bondage 
of  conventionality  had  she  been  unable  to  release  the 
rest  of  womankind.  How  wonderfully  she  succeeded 
is  now  a  matter  of  history.  For  what  better  argu- 
ment could  we  find  in  favour  of  women's  ministry 
than  the  successes  achieved  by  the  five  thousand 
women  officers  and  tens  of  thousands  of  women 
speakers  whom  Mrs.  Booth  left  behind  at  her  death, 
and  who  continue,  in  ever-increasing  numbers  and 
with  ever-multiplying  success,  to  follow  in  her  steps? 

"Her  brilliant  life  example's  flame  they  catch, 
And  forward  step  that  they  her  deeds  may  match." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MRS.    BOOTH   COMMENCES    PREACHING. 

i860. 

It  was   Sunday  morning,  the   8th  January,    i860.   The  Mrth 
Mr.  Booth  had  been  announced  to  take  the  service  at  dalgh?er 
Bethesda  Chapel.     But    the  expectant    congregation       ♦"'"^"• 
were  disappointed  when,  after  a  whispered  consulta- 
tion among  their  leaders,   one  of   them  commenced 
the  meeting  with  an  apology  for  their  beloved  pastor's 
unavoidable  absence.     The  service  had  not,  however, 
proceeded  far  when  Mr.  Booth  himself  appeared,  and 
was  able  not  only  to  preach  the  anticipated  sermon, 
but  to  make  the  happy  announcement  that  another 
little  woman  warrior  had    just  been  added  to  their 
ranks,  one  whose  life,  with  God's  blessing,  should  be 
a  practical    illustration   of    the   truths    laid   down   in 
"Female  Ministry." 

It  was  a  bright  omen  for  the  future  that  Emma  a  hapj^y 
Moss  Booth  was  born  within  a  few  days  of  the  pub- 
lication of  her  mother's  stirring  pamphlet,  and  that 
she  was  still  an  infant  in  her  arms  when  the  public 
ministry  commenced  which  was  to  open  the  door  of 
usefulness,  not  only  to  Mrs.  Booth's  own  daughters, 
but  to  multitudes  of  womankind.  It  was  while  she 
was  lying  still  weak  and  suffering,  her  babe  in  her 
bosom,  that  Mrs.  Booth  received  what  was  without 
doubt  an  inward  urging  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  con- 
secrate   herself  to    the    ministry    which    she    had   so 

357 


omen. 


358 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 

liot  only 
lawful 
but   a 
duty. 


Her 
timidity. 


A  special 
revela- 
tion. 


powerfully  defended  on  behalf  of  others.  She  applied 
her  pamphlet  to  herself. 

She  had  always  been  fully  convinced  that  it  was 
lawful  for  woman  to  preach  the  Gospel,  as  much  as 
for  man.  But  that  it  was  their  duty  to  rise  up  and 
do  it  under  pain  of  the  Divine  displeasure  was  alto- 
gether another  aspect  of  the  question.  Least  of  all 
did  she  contemplate  when  writing  the  paper  that  she 
would  be  singled  out  by  Providence  to  pioneer  the 
way.  But  a  sick  bed  allows  opportunity  for  reflec- 
tion which  is  often  impossible  in  the  busy  routine  of 
every-day  life.  She  was  forced  to  face  the  natural 
consequences  of  her  own  teachings,  and  to  realise  that 
what  was  permissible  became  a  duty  where  the  nec- 
essary qualifications  were  possessed. 

Referring  to  her  experience,  in  a  public  meeting 
twenty  years  afterwards,  Mrs.  Booth  said: 

"  Perhaps  some  of  you  would  hardly  credit  that  I 
was  one  of  the  most  timid  and  bashful  disciples  the 
Lord  Jesus  ever  saved.  But  for  four  or  five  months 
before  I  commenced  speaking  the  controversy  had 
been  signally  roused  in  my  soul,  and  I  passed 
through  some  severe  heart-searchings.  During  a  sea- 
son of  sickness  [connected  with  the  birth  of  her' 
daughter],  it  seemed  one  day  as  if  the  Lord  revealed 
it  all  to  me  by  His  Spirit.  I  had  no  vision,  but  a 
revelation  to  my  mind.  He  seemed  to  take  me  back 
to  the  time  when  I  was  fifteen  or  sixteen,  when  I  first 
fully  gave  my  heart  to  Him.  He  showed  me  that  all 
the  bitter  way  this  one  thing  had  been  the  fly  in  the 
pot  of  ointment,  preventing  me  from  realising  what  I 
otherwise  should  have  done.  And  then  I  remember 
prostrating  myself  upon  my  face  before  Him,  and 
promising  Him  there  in  the  sick  room,  'Lord,  if  Thou 
wilt  return  unto  me  as  in  the  days  of  old,  and  revisit 


MRS.  BOOTH  COMMENCES  PREACHING.    359 

me  with  those  urginors  of  the  Spirit  which  I  used  to      i860, 
have,  I  will  obey,  if  I  die  in  the  attempt.'     However, 
the  Lord  did  not  revisit    me  immediately.     But  he 
permitted  me    to  recover,   and    to  resume  my  usual 
duties. 

"About  three  months  afterward  I  went  to  the  ^^^f./J'^^,^ 
chapel  of  which  my  husband  was  a  minister  (Beth-  occasion. 
esda),  and  he  had  an  extraordinary  service  there. 
Even  then  he  was  always  trying  something  new  to 
get  at  the  outside  people.  For  this  Sunday  he  had 
arranged  with  the  leaders  that  the  chapel  should  be 
closed,  and  a  great  out-door  service  held  at  a  place 
called  Windmill  Hills.  It  so  happened,  however,  that 
the  weather  was  too  tempestuous  for  carrying  out  this 
design,  and  hence  the  doors  were  thrown  open  and 
the  meeting  was  held  in  the  chapel.  In  spite  of  the 
stormy  weather  about  a  thousand  persons  were  pres- 
ent, including  a  number  of  preachers  and  outside 
friends. 

"  I  was,  as  usual,  in  the  minister's  pew  with  my  ^  sudden 
eldest  boy,  then  four  years  old.  I  felt  much  depressed  ^«''- 
in  mind,  and  was  not  expecting  anything  particular, 
but  as  the  testimonies  proceeded  I  felt  the  Holy  Spirit 
come  upon  me.  You  alone  who  have  experienced  it 
can  tell  what  it  means.  It  cannot  be  described.  I 
felt  it  to  the  extremity  of  my  hands  and  feet.  It 
seemed  as  if  a  voice  said  to  me,  'Now  if  you  were  to 
go  and  testify,  you  know  I  would  bless  it  to  your  own 
soul,  as  well  as  to  the  people!'     I  gasped   again  and    The  con- 

r       i.  o      J.  <D  trovers/ 

said  in  my  heart,  'Yes,  Lord,  I  believe  Thou  wouldst, 
but  I  cannot  do  it!'  I  had  forgotten  my  vow.  It  did 
not  occur  to  me  at  all. 

"A  moment  afterwards  there  flashed  across  my 
mind  the  memory  of  the  bed-room  visitation  when  I 
had  promised  the  Lord  that  I  would  obey  Him  at  all 


36o 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 


Willing 

to   look  a 

fool. 


The  first 
address. 


Hanging 
on  to 
God. 


The  con- 
fession. 


costs.  And  then  the  voice  seemed  to  ask  me  if  this 
was  consistent  with  that  promise.  I  almost  jumped 
up  and  said,  'No,  Lord,  it  is  the  old  thing  over  again. 
But  I  cannot  do  it!'  I  felt  as  though  I  would 
sooner  die  than  speak.  And  then  the  devil  said, 
'Besides,  you  are  not  prepared.  Yovl  will  look  like 
a  fool  and  will  have  nothing  to  say.'  He  made  a 
mistake.  He  overreached  himself  for  once.  It  was 
this  word  that  settled  it.  'Ah!'  I  said,  'this  is  just 
the  point.  I  have  never  yet  been  willing  to  be  a  fool 
for  Christ.     Now  I  will  be  one!' 

"Without  stopping  another  moment  I  rose  up  from 
my  seat  and  walked  down  the  aisle.  My  dear  hus- 
band was  just  going  to  conclude.  He  thought  some- 
thing had  happened  to  me,  and  so  did  the  people. 
We  had  been  there  two  years,  and  they  knew  my 
timid,  bashful  nature.  He  stepped  down  and  asked 
me,  'What  is  the  matter,  my  dear?'  I  replied,  'I 
want  to  say  a  word.'  He  was  so  taken  by  surprise 
that  he  could  only  say,  'My  dear  wife  wishes  to 
speak,'  and  sat  down.  For  years  he  had  been  trying 
to  persuade  me  to  do  it.  Only  that  very  week  he  had 
wanted  me  to  go  and  address  a  little  cottage  meeting 
of  some  twenty  working  people,  but  I  had  refused. 

"  I  stood — God  only  knows  how — and  if  any 
mortal  ever  did  hang  on  the  arm  of  Omnipotence,  I 
did.  I  felt  as  if  I  were  clinging  to  some  human  arm, 
but  it  was  a  Divine  one  which  held  me  up.  I  just 
stood  and  told  the  people  how  it  had  come  about.  I 
confessed,  as  I  think  everybody  should  who  has  been 
in  the  wrong  and  has  misrepresented  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  said :  '  I  dare  say  many  of  you  have 
been  looking  upon  me  as  a  very  devoted  woman,  and 
one  who  has  been  living  faithfully  to  God.  But  I 
have  come  to  realise  that  I  have  been  disobeying  Him, 


362  MJiS.    BOOTH. 

i860,      and  thus  have  brought  darkness  and  leanness  into  my 
^^^  ^^'    soul.     I  have  promised  the  Lord  to  do  so  no  longer, 
and  have  come  to  tell  you  that  henceforth  I  will  be 
obedient  to  the  holy  vision.' 
Thepeo-        "There  was  more  weeping,  they  said,  in  the  chapel 
that  day,  than  on  any  previous  occasion.     Many  dated 
a  renewal  in  righteousness  from  that  very  moment, 
and  began  a  life  of  devotion  and  consecration  to  God. 
Talking         " Now  I  might  have  'talked  good'  to  them  till  now. 
That  honest    confession   did  what    twenty  years  of 
preaching  could  not  have  accomplished. 
What  was       "But  oh,  how  little   did   I    realise   how  much   was 
then  involved !     I  never  imagined  the  life  of  publicity 
and  trial  that  it  would  lead  me  to,  for  I  was  never 
allowed  to  have  another  quiet  Sabbath  when  I  was 
well  enough  to  stand  and  speak.     All  I  did  was  to 
take  the  first  step.     I  could  not  see  in  advance.     But 
the  Lord,  as  He  always  does  when   His  people  are 
honest  with  Him  and  obedient,  opened  the  windows 
of  heaven  and  poured  out  such  a  blessing  that  there 
was  not  room  to  contain  it." 
Announc-       The  Rubicon  once  crossed,   it  became   impossible 
'^  night,      for  Mrs.  Booth  to  turn  back,  however  much  she  might 
have  desired  to  do  so.     She  had  scarcely  resumed  her 
seat  when,  true  to  his  nature,  Mr.  Booth  pounced  upon 
her  to  preach  at  night.     She  could  not  refuse.     The 
Thepeo-    people  were  delighted.     They  overwhelmed  her  with 
Whfed     congratulations.      Her  servant,  who  was  at  the  meet- 
ing, went  home  and  danced  round  the  kitchen  table 
with  delight,  calling  out  to  the  nurse,  "The  mistress 
has  spoken!     The  mistress  has  spoken!" 
The  re-         Mrs.  Booth  returned  home  drenched  in  perspiration, 

turn 

home,  with  mingled  feelings  of  satisfaction  and  of  conster- 
nation at  having  to  speak  again  that  night.  What 
could  she  say?     It  would  be  useless  for  her  to  repeat 


MRS.  BOOTH  COMMENCES  PREACHING.    3^3 

what  she  had  said  in  the  morning.     And  yet  there  was      i860, 
no  time  for  preparation.     She  cast  herself  upon  her      ^^  ^^' 
knees  and  asked  the  Lord  to  give  her  a  message  for 
the  people.     He  did  so  then  and  there,  and  the  night 
meeting  exceeded  in  enthusiasm  and  power  the  pre- 
ceding one. 

The  chapel  presented  a  never-to-be-forgotten  scene   ^i«  '^}9ht 

i^       ^  ^  meeting. 

that  evening.     It  was  crowded  to  the  doors,  and  the 

people  sat  upon  the  very  window-sills.     Appropriately 

enough, it  happened  to  be  the  anniversary  of  Pentecost, 

and  Mrs.  Booth  took  for  her  subject,  "Be  filled  with       Hej- 

•'  subject. 

the  Spirit."     The  audience  were  spell-bound  as  they 

listened    to  her  words.     There  are  some  in  heaven 

and  not  a  few  on  earth  to-day,  who  look  back  upon 

that  occasion  as  the  turning-point  in  their  spiritual 

history. 

The  news  spread  far  and  wide,  and  invitations  now  She  visits 
•^  New- 

poured  in  thickly  from  all  directions  in  greater  num-     castle. 

bers  than  could  possibly  be  accepted.  Among  other 
places  a  call  was  received  from  Newcastle,  and  an  in- 
teresting memento  of  Mrs.  Booth's  first  service  in  that 
city  consists  in  the  following  resolution  passed  by  the 
leaders'  meeting  of  the  chapel  in  which  she  preached: 

"  That  this  meeting  returns  its  cordial  thanks  to  Mrs.  Booth  The  reso- 
for  the  addresses  delivered  in  the  chapel  on  Sunday  last, 
which  we  have  no  doubt  will  be  productive  of  good,  and 
earnestly  hopes  that  she  may  continue  in  the  course  thus 
begun,  in  which  we  unitedly  pray  that  the  blessing  of  God 
may  attend  her  and  crown  her  labours  with  success. 

"  W.  H.  Renwick, 

"  Society  Steward. 
"  6th  June,  i860." 

In  a  letter  dated  23d  July,  Mrs.  Booth  sends  her  she  re- 
parents  an  interesting  account  of  her  labours  at  this  ^wVrk^^ 
time. 


3^4 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  3X, 


Taking  a 
meeting 
for  the 
General. 


No  time 
to  .'itiulij. 


Seeking 

the 
drunk- 
ards. 


"  William  has  been  confined  to  the  house  a  fortnight  with  a 
bad  throat  attack.  I  have  consequently  had  extra  care  and 
work.  I  have  spoken  four  times  since  you  left — at  Sheriff 
Hill,  the  Fell,  Dunstan,  and  last  night  at  Gateshead.  At  two 
of  the  places  I  took  the  night  anniversary  services,  had  full 
chapels  and  gave  great  satisfaction.  I  went  to  Bethesda  last 
night  to  supply  for  William.  The  chapel  was  crowded  with 
forms  round  the  communion  rail  and  down  the  aisles.  I  spoke 
for  an  hour  and  five  minutes  from  Luke  xiii.  23-30  ('And  one 
asked  Him,  Lord,  are  there  few  that  be  saved?"  etc.).  I  got  on 
very  well  and  had  three  sweet  cases,  and  from  all  accounts 
the  people  were  very  much  pleased.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I 
felt  all  day  about  it.  I  never  was  in  such  a  state  in  my  life. 
I  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  I  was  pressed  into  it  against 
my  will,  and  when  I  saw  the  congregation  I  felt  almost  like 
melting  away !  However,  I  got  through,  and  I  know  I  spoke 
with  freedom  and  power.  The  people  listened  like  statues, 
and  were  frequently  very  much  moved.  I  dare  say  I  have 
been  the  subject  of  much  talk  to-day,  but  I  hear  nothing  save 
the  most  encouraging  reports,  and  some  from  quarters  least 
expected.  'Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within 
me,  bless  His  holy  Name!" 

"  They  talk  of  William  and  myself  conducting  revival  ser- 
vices together  at  Bethesda  during  the  winter.  I  intend  to  try 
to  get  a  little  preparation.  I  also  hope  to  arrange  a  lecture  or 
two,  one  for  mothers. 

"  William  is  of  course  very  pleased,  and  says  he  felt  quite 
comfortable  at  home  minding  the  bairns,  knowing  who  was 
supplying  his  place!  Of  course,  I  can  only  talk  like  this  to 
you.  If  I  had  but  time  to  study  and  write,  I  should  not  fear 
now,  but  I  must  be  content  to  do  what  I  can,  consistently  with 
my  home  duties,  and  leave  the  future  to  the  Lord.  I  think, 
however,  very  few  have  had  so  encouraging  a  beginning,  and 
I  am  determined  to  make  the  best  of  my  opportunities. 

"  I  continue  my  visitations  among  the  drunkards.  Our  first 
weekly  meeting  is  to  be  on  Thursday  evening  at  eight  o'clock 
in  a  room  in  Lampton  Terrace.  I  have  ten  pledged  men  to 
begin  with,  most  of  whom  have  been  much  addicted  to  drink 
for  years,  but  who  have  now  kept  the  pledge  above  a  fort- 
night." 

Meanwhile  the  annual  Conference   had  come  and 


MRS.  BOOTH  COMMENCES  PREACHING.    365 

gone.     Mr.  Booth  had  not  attended  it,   having  con-      i860, 
sented   to  stay  in   Gateshead  another  year.      There       ^^  ^^' 
seemed,  therefore,  no  particular  object  to  be  gained  in    .4  fhird 
going.     He  could  not  help  feeling,  moreover,  that  he    ''aatpZ^ 
had  been  unjustly  treated  by  the  non-fulfilment  of  the      '^''"^" 
repeated  pledges  that  he  should  be  recalled  to  the 
evangelistic  sphere.     While  he  was  willing  on  his  own 
part   to  continue   in   his  present  position  for  another 
year,  he  could  not  but  feel  that  he  was  wronged  in 
the   evident  indisposition   of    the   opposing  party  to 
carry  out  their  promises.     His  absence  called  forth 
some  inquiries  from  Dr.  Cooke,  the  President,  but  a 
letter  of  explanation  was  read,  and  with  this  the  Con- 
ference appeared  satisfied. 

The  heavy  strain   of    his  circuit    duties  had  told  Mr.  Booth 
severely  for  some  time  pavSt  upon  Mr.  Booth,  and  led 
in  September  to  a  complete  break-down,  and  an  en- 
forced rest. 

Having  been  strongly  recommended  to  try  the 
hydropathic  treatment,  Mr.  Booth  went  to  Mr.  Smed- 
ley's  establishment  at  Matlock,  while  Mrs.  Booth  re- 
mained with  the  children  in  Gateshead.  But,  although 
she  was  prepared  to  do  what  she  could  in  looking  after 
the  interests  of  the  Circuit,  she  was  surprised  when  a 
deputation  of  the  leading  officials  waited  upon  her, 
urging  that  she  would  take  her  husband's  town  ap-  j,/,,^ 
pointments  during  his  absence.  To  this  she  replied  a^]°eci\o 
that  she  could  on  no  account  consent,  remindinof  them.    ^^^'^  '''* 

^^  place. 

that  their  credit  was  at  stake  as  well  as  her  confidence. 
The  deputation  retired  considerably  crestfallen  at  the 
result,  but  returned  soon  afterwards  with  renewed 
supplications  that  Mrs.  Booth  would  at  least  under- 
take the  Sabbath-night  meetings,  these  being  the  ^lf^'''\^' 
most  important.      After    considerable    pressure    she     circuit 

.  for  nine 

consented  to  this  arrangement,  and  during  the  next     tveeks. 


366  MRS.   BOOTH. 

i860,  nine  weeks  conducted  these  and  other  meetings  till 
^^  ^^'  the  time  of  Mr.  Booth's  return,  besides  supervising  the 
general  management  of  circuit  affairs.  The  result 
was  most  gratifying.  The  chapel  was  packed  on  each 
occasion  that  she  spoke.  Numbers  of  gentlemen  from 
Newcastle,  who  had  never  before  entered  a  dissenting 
place  of  worship,  attended  the  meetings. 

The  following  letter  to  her  parents  gives  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  position  of  affairs  during  this  period : 

"  24th  September,  i860. 
"  I  had  a  very  good  day  yesterday  at  Sheriff  Hill.     A  most 

J.  fl€    tVOVfC  •  r^         1  1  J 

advances,  precious  time  m  the  morning.  Spoke  an  hour  and  ten  min- 
utes with  unction  and  liberty.  My  own  soul  was  richly 
blessed  and  I  think  many  others  were.  At  night  I  had  a  good 
time  and  splendid  prayer-meeting,  with  several  under  convic- 
tion, but  only  one  decided  case.  I  believe,  however,  we  shall 
get  two  very  interesting  young  gentlemen  who  were  present. 
One  of  them  is  just  about  to  be  married  to  one  of  my  spiritual 
children,  another  fruit  of  my  last  service  at  Bethesda.  Glory 
be  to  God  for  all  His  goodness!  But  I  feel  as  though  I  heard 
Him  saying  to  my  soul,  '  Be  faithful  and  I  will  show  thee 
greater  things  than  these.'  'Even  so,'  my  heart  replies, 
'Behold  the  handmaiden  of  the  Lord!  Be  it  unto  me  accord- 
ing to  Thy  word!'     Pray  for  me. 

"  I  hope  if  my  dear  father  has  not  yet  got.  thoroughly  into 
the  light,  that  he  will  do  so  while  he  is  here.  It  may  be  the 
Lord  is  bringing  him  for  that  purpose. 

Plenty  of  '  ^  S^^  plenty  of  invitations  now,  far  more  than  I  can  com- 
inyita-  ply  with.  In  fact  they  tell  me  my  name  is  being  trumpeted 
far  and  wide.  Mr.  Crow  says  that  it  is  getting  into  the  foreign 
papers  now,  and  that  in  one  of  them  I  am  represented  as  hav- 
ing my  husband's  clothes  on !  They  would  require  to  be  con- 
siderably shortened  before  such  a  phenomenon  could  occur, 
would  they  not?  Well,  notwithstanding  all  I  have  heard 
about  the  papers,  I  have  never  had  sufficient  curiosity  to  buy 
one !  Nor  have  I  ever  seen  my  name  in  print,  except  on  the 
wall  bills,  and  then  I  have  had  some  difficulty  to  believe  that 
it  really  meant  me !  However,  I  suppose  it  did.  And  now  I 
shall  never  deem  anything  impossible  any  more ! " 


MRS.  BOOTH  COMMENCES  PREACHING.    367 

In  writing  to  Mr.  Booth  during  his  absence  she  says :      i860, 

Age  31. 

"  You  will  be  anxious  to  hear  how  I  got  on  last  night.     Well,       ^  /•„/; 
we  had  a  splendid  congregation.     The  chapel  was  very  full,      chapel. 
upstairs  and  down,  with  forms  round  the  communion  rail.     I 
never  saw  it  fuller  on  any  occasion  except  once  or  twice  dur- 
ing the  revival.     It  was  a  wonderft:!  congregation,  especially 
considering  that  no  bills  had  been  printed.     The  Lord  helped 
me,  and  I  spoke  for  an  hour  with  great  confidence,  liberty,  and  - 
I  think  some  power.     They  listened  as  for  eternity,  and  a  deep 
solemnity  seemed  to  rest  on  every  countenance.     I  am  con- 
scious that  mentally  and  for  delivery  it  was  by  far  my  best     The  best 
effort.     Oh  how  I  yearned  for  more  Divine  iuflitcnce  to  make       '^^^^  ' 
the  most  of  that  precious  opportunity  !     Great  numbers  stayed 
to  the  prayer-meeting.     The  bottom  of  the  chapel  was  nearly 
full.     Many  are  under   conviction,    but  we  had    only   three 
cases,  I  think  all  gogd  ones.     I  kept  the  prayer-meeting  on 
until  ten.     The  people  did  not  seem  to  want  to  go.     The  man 
whom  I  told  you  about  as  having  been  brought  in  a  month  ago 
under  '  Be  ye  reconciled, '  prayed  last  night  with  power.     He  is 
a  glorious  case,  Mr.  McAllam's  best  helper  at  Gardener  Street. 

"  The  Proctors  were  there,  also  Turnbull  and  Buston.  Mr.  a  grand 
Firbank,  Thompson,  and  Crow  were  talking  in  the  vestry  chance. 
afterward,  and  they  said  we  ought  to  commence  special  ser- 
vices directly,  for  it  was  evident  we  had  a  splendid  hold  on 
the  town,  and  that  I  must  prepare  myself  to  preach  at  night 
very  often.  I  told  them  it  was  easy  talking,  etc.  They  little 
knew  what  it  cost  me,  nor  anybody  else  either,  except  the 
Lord.  You  see  I  cannot  get  rid  of  the  care  and  management 
of  things  at  home,  and  this  sadly  interferes  with  the  quiet 
necessary  for  preparation,  but  I  must  try  to  possess  my  soul 
in  patience,  and  to  do  all,  in  the  kitchen  as  well  as  in  the  pul- 
pit, to  the  glory  of  God.     The  Lord  help  me ! 

"  I  took  cold  coming  home  from  the  meeting  last  Sunday  Dmcul- 
night,  and  have  had  a  sore  throat  and  chest  all  the  week.  I  ties. 
am  very  sorry  I  engaged  myself  for  Reckington  twice  next 
Sunday,  but  they  pleaded  so  hard  I  could  not  refuse.  I  can- 
not undertake  these  night  services  in  the  countr3^  having  to 
come  home  in  an  open  conveyance,  as  I  will  not  let  them  go 
to  the  expense  of  hiring  cabs. 

"  I  told  you  I  had  refused  an  application  from  Salem  for  the 


368 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 


A  press- 
ing invi- 
tation. 


The 

people 

pleased. 


Taking 
the  reins. 


The  unity 

of  the 

leaders. 


No  time 
to  grow. 


Eloquence 
and  ad- 
ministra- 
tive 
ability. 


afternoon  of  the  28th.  Well,  on  Saturday  another  gentleman 
waited  on  me,  and  begged  me  to  reconsider  my  decision.  He 
evidently  came  determined  to  make  me  yield.  He  was  most 
doggedly  obtuse  to  all  my  reasons  and  persevering  in  his  en- 
treaties. I  thought  to  myself,  you  have  got  your  match  this 
time  !  But  after  half  an  hour's  arguing,  in  which  he  assured 
me  that  every  office-bearer  had  been  consulted  and  that  all 
were  anxious  for  me  to  come,  I  said  there  was  only  one  way  it 
could  be  done.  If  Mr.  Williams  would  take  afternoon  and 
night,  I  would  serve  them  in  the  morning. 

"  The  people  are  saying  some  very  extravagant  things.  I 
hear  a  stray  report  now  and  then.  But  I  think  I  feel  as  meek 
as  ever,  and  more  my  own  helplessness  and  dependence  on 
Divine  assistance.  Don't  forget  to  pray  for  me.  I  have  borne 
the  weight  of  circuit  matters  to  an  extent  I  could  not  have 
believed  possible,  and  have  been  literally  the  'Superintend- 
ent.' But  it  has  been  behind  the  scenes,  and  I  have  not 
always  been  well  represented  in  my  officers,  and  consequently 
all  things  have  not  been  done  to  my  satisfaction.  When  you 
come  you  will  not  only  resume  the  command,  but  yourself 
take  the  reins." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  Gates- 
head work  was  the  unanimity  which  prevailed  within 
the  borders  of  the  society.  "  This  was  the  more  re- 
markable," says  one  of  its  oldest  officials,  "as  the  cir- 
cuit was  well  known  to  be  a  difficult  one  to  grip,  the 
quarterly  meetings  of  office-bearers  having  often  been 
of  a  stormy  character  and  requiring  no  little  tact  to  man- 
age. But  under  Mr.  Booth's  leadership  everything 
went  on  smoothly.  He  never  permitted  symptoms 
of  disagreement  or  coldness  time  to  grow.  If  he 
thought  anything  had  been  said  calculated  to  give 
rise  to  a  misunderstanding,  or  unnecessarily  to  wound 
any  one's  feelings,  he  would  not  allow  twenty-four 
hours  to  pass  without  setting  the  matter  straight  by  a 
personal  interview." 

It  is  not  always  that  the  gift  of  eloquence  is  com- 
bined with  administrative  ability.      Indeed,  men  of 


MRS.  BOOTH  COMMENCES  PREACHING.    369 

action  are  proverbially  taciturn,  while  the  capacity  for  i860, 
saying  a  thing  well  is  as  frequently  linked  with  a  sin-  ^^^  ^^' 
gular  aptitude  for  doing  it  badly.  With  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Booth  there  was  a  happy  combination  of  both. 
As  leaders  of  their  family,  of  their  Circuit,  and  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  they  have  been  a  remarkable  ex- 
emplification of  the  "iron  hand  in  a  velvet  glove," 
which  is  truly  said  to  be  the  most  valuable  qualifica- 
tion of  a  wise  ruler. 

A  bad  rider  will  spoil  the  best  horse.     At  one  time      ^.fea<* 
the  rems  will  lie  loose  upon   its  neck,  so  that  except    spoils  a 
for  the  weight  upon  its  back  it  cannot  tell  it  has  a      horsi. 
master.      The    next    moment  the    creature    will    be 
thrown  upon   its    haunches    by  a  violent  jerk,    with 
altogether  unnecessary   force.      At    first  there  is  no 
control,  and  then  it  is  all  control.     The  horse  is  al- 
ternately master   of  the  rider  and  the  rider  master 
of  the  horse,  until  it  becomes  uncertain  whose  turn 
will  be   the  next,   and   finally  it  is   impossible  to  do 
with  whip  and  spur  what  good  management  would 
have  accomplished  without  the  use  of  either.     It  is 
thus  that  many  a  vicious  brute  is  manufactured,  and 
the  rider  prepares  the  way  for  his  own  fall. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  frequently  the  Human 
parallel  has  held  good  in  the  case  of  human  govern-  merits. 
ments.  They  are  a  necessity,  in  some  shape  or  form, 
perhaps  in  every  shape  a  necessary  evil  of  our  human- 
ity. A  riderless  horse  soon  gets  into  mi.schief ,  or  is  at 
best  a  comparatively  useless  and  expensive  luxury.  A 
headless  community,  whether  it  be  a  family,  a  religious 
organisation,  or  a  nation,  cannot  play  its  proper  part 
on  the  social  stage.  It  may  do  no  harm,  but  it  cannot 
accomplish  the  good  which  a  combination  of  its  in- 
dividual powers  would  render  possible.  The  divided 
house  must  fall;  if  not  into  perdition,  at  least  into 
24 


370 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 


Systems 
of  govern- 
ment. 


The  nde 
of  all  is 
the  rule 
of  7wne. 


A  strong 

govern- 

nienf. 


Ability 
and  good- 
ness. 


comparative  obscurity.  Men  are  like  sheep.  The 
vast  majority  are  made  and  meant  to  follow.  The 
rare  majority  are  fitted  to  lead.  A  happy  union  of 
the  two  is  what  is  required.  The  unfortunate  experi- 
ences of  misgovernment  are  no  argument  against 
government  itself.  Nor  is  it  wise  to  substitute  the 
government  of  all  for  the  government  of  some.  The 
rule  of  the  best  is  the  best  rule.  The  government  of 
all  is  the  government  of  none.  What  is  needed  is  a 
real  aristocracy  in  place  of  an  artificial  one — a  gov- 
ernment of  the  best,  the  best  by  nature  and  the  best 
hy  grace,  the  best  in  talent,  but  the  talent  must  be 
seasoned  with  virtue.  Perverted  talent  is  a  public 
danger.  The  world  is  cursed  with  the  rule  of  clever- 
ness, the  rule  of  science,  the  rule  of  art,  the  rule  of 
wealth,  the  rule  of  birth,  the  rule  of  accident. 

The  Salvation  Arm.y  has  advanced  with  altogether 
phenomenal  rapidity  because  there  has  been  a  strong 
government — a  government  of  the  best,  both  in  re- 
gard to  ability  and  piety — impartially  administered, 
and  based  on  the  confidence  of  its  rank  and  file. 
Ability  has  been  duly  recognised  without  being  im- 
properly deified.  Knowledge  has  been  subordinated 
to  holiness,  and  power  has  been  sanctified  by  love. 
From  a  governmental  standpoint  ability  is  almost  as 
necessary  to  goodness  as  goodness  to  ability.  It  is  a 
fatal  mistake  to  dissolve  the  partnership,  whether  in 
the  social,  political,  or  religious  world.  In  seeking 
to  dispense  with  either  one  or  the  other,  society  be- 
comes more  or  less  of  a  mixed  muddledom. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

GATESHEAD.      1 860-1861. 


The  illness  and  prolonged  absence  of  Mr.  Booth 
from  the  Gateshead  Circuit  had  not  only  the  effect  of 
compelling  Mrs.  Booth  to  undertake  responsibilities 
from  which  she  would  otherwise  have  drawn  back,  but 
gave  rise  to  a  correspondence  which  contains  an  un- 
usually full  description  of  the  incidents  occurring  at 
the  time. 

Her  intense  anxiety  regarding  the  nervous  prostra- 
tion and  complete  break-down  which  had  necessitated 
Mr.  Booth's  departure  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  letter : 

"September  13th,  i860. 

"  My  Precious  William  : — Yours  is  to  hand,  and  so  deeply 
have  its  contents  troubled  me  that  I  can  do  nothing  until  I 
have  answered  it. 

"  I  have  let  you  proceed  with  the  hydropathic  treatment 
quietly  and  trustingly,  although  I  have  had  many  fears  about 
its  suiting  you.  The  difficulty  in  breathing  of  which  you  speak 
distresses  and  alarms  me.  And  now  that  you  have  left  Mr. 
Smedley's  I  shall  expect  to  have  some  jurisdiction  over  you. 
And  I  do  hope  that  you  will  prove  the  love  for  me  of  which 
you  write  by  at  once  attending  to  my  advice.  Your  health  is 
too  important  a  matter  to  be  trifled  with.  Oh.  my  dearest, 
what  shall  I  do  if  you  don't  get  better?  I  dare  not  think 
about  it.  The  Lord  help  me !  I  feel  as  though  I  must  come 
to  you.  I  can  scarce  restrain  myself  at  all.  Write  by  return, 
and  let  nothing  prevent  you  from  sending  me  news  every 
day.  No  human  means  must  be  left  untried  to  bring  about 
your  restoration,  and  if  our  money  fails  I  must  try  and  get 

371 


Her 
letters  to 
the  Gen- 
eral. 


The    Gen- 
eral''s 
illness. 


M7'S. 

Booth's 
dist7-ess. 


372 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 


Prayer. 


some  more.  I  might  arrange  some  lectures  and  charge  so 
much  for  entrance.  With  such  an  object  in  view  I  could  un- 
dertake the  extra  burden,  and  the  people  would  come  to  hear 
me,  I  feel  sure. 

"  I  shall  bear  you  continually  on  my  heart  before  the  Lord. 
Do  we  honour  Him  enough  in  the  matter  of  health  and  sick- 
ness? "Is  any  sick  among  you?  Let  him  call  for  the  elders  of 
the  church  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  and  the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up !'  Let 
us  pray  more  about  our  health. 

"  With  much  anxiety  and  undiminished  affection, 
"  I  remain  your  loving  wife, 

"  Catherine." 


Better 
new.s. 


Domestic 
troubles. 


Whoop- 
ing- 
cough. 


Subsequent  letters,  however,  contained  better  news, 
and  Mrs.  Booth  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  from 
time  to  time  that  change,  rest,  and  medical  treatment 
had  produced,  with  God's  blessing,  a  satisfactory  im- 
provement in  her  husband's  health. 

To  add  to  her  anxieties,  however,  her  children  sick- 
ened simultaneously  with  whooping-cough.  The  fol- 
lowing letter  to  her  parents  gives  a  glimpse  behind 
the  scenes,  showing  that  Mrs.  Booth,  though  now 
officiating  as  "a  Mother  in  Israel,"  was  none  the  less 
a  mother  at  home : 

"  You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  all  the  children  have  got  the 
whooping-cough!  It  never  occurred  to  me  that  the  cough 
Willie  had  was  the  commencement  of  it.  Now,  however,  it 
is  beyond  doubt,  and  very  much  it  distresses  me  to  hear 
them  cough  one  after  another.  Katie  and  Baby  have  it  the 
worst.  I  am  giving  them  the  appropriate  homoeopathic 
remedies,  with  their  feet  in  hot  water  and  mustard  at  night, 
and  water  bandages  on  their  chests.  So  far  this  treatment 
answers  well  and  they  are  progressing  as  favourably  as  could 
be  expected.  Baby  suffers  the  most,  as  she  is  cutting  her 
teeth.  However,  if  they  are  to  have  it,  I  would  rather  they 
all  had  it  together,  although  it  is  no  small  job  bandaging 
them  every  night,  I  can  assure  you.  It  takes  me  above  an 
hour  and  a  half  before  I  have  finished.     Join  us  in  praying 


GA  TESHEAD. 


373 


that  God  may  bless  the  means  and  speedily  restore  them  to 
health. 

"  Accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  little  frock  you  sent. 
We  like  it  very  much.  There  is  only  one  difficulty,  namely, 
it  is  too  smart!  I  shall  have  to  give  you  full  and  explicit  di- 
rections in  future  as  to  the  style,  trimming,  etc.,  for  we  really 
must  set  an  example  in  this  respect  worthy  of  imitation.  I 
feel  no  temptation  now  to  decorate  myself.  But  I  cannot  say 
the  same  about  my  children.  And  yet,  oh,  I  see  I  must  be 
decided,  and  come  out  from  among  the  fashion-worshipping, 
worldly  professors  around  me.  Lord,  help  me !  Don't  think 
I  am  reflecting  on  you.  But  we  must  do  violence  to  our  fan- 
cies for  Christ's  sake.  Bless  you!  lam  sure  your  kindness 
is  fully  appreciated  and  highly  prized!" 


i860, 
Age  31. 

The  frock 
is  too 
smart. 


It  is  not  unfrequently  a  characteristic  of  the  largest 
minds  that  they  possess  a  capacity  for  descending  to 
the  veriest  trifles,  passing  from  one  to  the  other  with- 
out apparent  effort,  and  finding  in  each  their  natural 
element.  It  is  no  less  surprising  to  watch  an  elephant 
pick  up  a  needle  with  its  trunk  than  to  see  it  push 
down  a  wall,  or  tear  a  sapling  from  its  roots.  It  is 
the  combination  of  the  two  which  forms  the  contrast. 
Of  itself  there  is  nothing  striking  in  the  capacity  to 
deal  effectively  with  the  trivialities  of  life.  But  great- 
ness is  never  greater  than  when  dealing  with  the  little- 
nesses of  the  hour — at  one  moment  sweeping  the  uni- 
verse as  with  a  telescope,  at  the  next  dissecting  an 
atom  with  its  microscopic  eye. 

Mrs.  Booth,  spending  an  hour  and  a  half  at  home 
in  bandaging  her  sick  children,  abroad  in  addressing 
a  crowded  and  spellbound  audience,  presents  a  happy 
contrast,  in  which  each  portion  of  the  double  picture 
lends  added  effect  to  the  other.  It  was,  perhaps,  the 
consciousness  of  a  well-regulated  home  that  imparted 
confidence  to  the  speaker,  and  attested  her  message 
as  nothing  else  could  have  done. 


A  large 
mind. 


Dealing 

ivith 
details. 


A  happy 
contrast. 


.      374  ^fJ^S.   BOOTH. 

i860,  "I  hear  it  has  got  into  the  Court  Journal  2ind.  several 

^^^  ^^'    other  papers,"  she  writes  to  her  parents,  "that  I  am 

AVir.s-     to  take  William's  appointments.     The  paragraph  is 

notices,    headed    'A   Minister's  Wife  Supplying    his    Place.' 

There  was  an  account    in    the  Chronicle  a  fortnight 

ago  of  my  first  effort  in  Bethesda.     There  is  also   a 

notice  in  a  Sunderland  paper,   and  to-day  I  am  told 

it  is  in  the  Morning  Star.     One  gentleman  says  that 

he  saw  an  account  of  it  in  the  Scotsman,  in  the  heart 

of  Scotland. 

Preach-        "I  had  a  splendid   congregation  on  Sunday  night 

"Prodigal    and  took  the  pulpit,  very  much  against  my  own  de- 

''"■       sire,    but  in   compliance   with    the   general  wish.     I 

spoke  exactly  an  hour  from  the  Prodigal  Son.     I  was 

very  much  agitated,    and    did    not  get    a  moment's 

liberty  through  the  whole  service.     In  fact,  I  felt  very 

much  discouraged,  but  I  have  heard  nothing  but  the 

greatest  satisfaction  expressed  by  the  people.     So,  if 

they  were  satisfied  with  that,  I  need  never  fear  again, 

as  I  had  some  good  stuff  and  was  well  prepared  with 

material,  but  was  so  flurried  I  could  not  command  it. 

However,  there  was  a  gracious  influence   and  several 

were  weeping. 

"On  Monday  night  I  spoke  for  half  an  hour  with 
liberty  and  comfort  to  myself,  and  I  believe  with  uni- 
versal satisfaction. 
A  com-  "  I  am  published  for  anniversary  sermons  at  Felling 
^ipph,,  vShore  morning  and  night.  On  Sunday  week  I  am  at 
the  Teams  anniversary  morning  and  night,  and  the 
vSunday  after  they  want  me  to  take  Bethesda  again. 
The  following  Sunday  I  am  to  be  at  Sheriff  Hill  and 
then  at  Gateshead  Fell.  So  you  see  I  have  plenty  of 
work  cut  out.  I  am  anxious  to  do  as  much  as  I  can 
while  William  is  away,  as  they  esteem  me  a  competent 
supply  for  him,  and  this  will  prevent  disappointment. 


GA  TESHEAD. 


375 


"The  preparation  is  the  greatest  difficulty.  I  am 
subject  to  such  constant  interruption  and  noise  that  I 
am  often  almost  bewildered.  But  the  Lord  has  won- 
derfully helped  me  so  far,  and  He  has  been  blessing 
my  soul  very  sweetly  of  late.  I  am  not  labouring  in 
vain,  but  I  trust  I  have  some  fruit  which  will  remain 
unto  eternal  life." 

In  a  later  letter  to  Mr.  Booth  she  says : 

"  I  was  at  the  Shore  yesterday.  Good  congregation 
in  the  morning  and  a  precious  season  to  myself,  and 
so  far  as  I  could  judge  to  everybody  else.  It  was  by 
far  the  best  effort  I  have  made.  If  I  could  always 
realise  as  much  liberty  and  Divine  influence,  I  should 
not  fear  to  go  anywhere. 

"  At  night  the  chapel  was  well  filled,  with  extra 
forms,  etc.  Miss  Newberry  was  present,  and  said 
there  was  not  a  single  defect,  except  a  manifestation 
of  physical  weakness  which  distressed  her.  The  heat 
was  very  oppressive,  and  for  the  first  time  proved  a 
hindrance  to  me.  With  time  and  pains  and  more  of 
the  Spirit  I  believe  I  shall  be  useful  yet. 

"They  had  Mrs.  Dickson  from  Sheriff  Hill  for  the 
afternoon.  Miss  Newberry  heard  her.  She  says  she 
is  a  regular  Primitive  female  preacher !  She  puts  off 
bonnet  and  shawl  and  goes  at  it  like  a  ranter!  She 
says  some  good  things,  but  without  order  or  arrange- 
ment, and  shouts  till  the  people  jump !  She  is  a  very 
big  woman,  and  I  have  no  doubt  a  very  good  one  too. 
But  I  was  sadly  afraid,  from  hearing  her  shout  and 
talk  while  a  few  friends  were  praying  after  tea,  that 
she  would  quite  upset  me  at  night.  However,  I  com- 
mitted it  to  the  Lord,  and  got  Miss  Newberry  to  sit 
behind  her,  so  that  if  she  did  respond  too  loudly,  she 
could  give  her  a  hint.  However,  she  did  not  need  it. 
I  spoke  an  hour  and  five  minutes  in  the  morning, 


i860, 
Age  31. 

The. 
prepara- 
tion. 


A 
precious 
season. 


Useful 
yet. 


"  Going  at 
it." 


Quiets 
down. 


376 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


i860, 
Age  31. 

Some. 

plain 

truth 

ready. 


A   good 
test. 


about  an  hour  in  the  evening,  gave  two  invitations, 
and  prayed. 

"  I  saw  Mr.  Firbank  about  the  quarterly  meeting. 
It  is  to  be  held  as  usual,  and  the  adjourned  meeting  a 
fortnight  after,  at  which  you  must,  if  possible,  be 
present.  I  have  got  some  plain  truth  ready  for  Sunday 
morning,  and  I  believe  the  Lord  will  help  me  to  de- 
liver it  with  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with 
power.  I  beg  an  especial  interest  in  your  prayers 
that  this  may  be  the  case.     It  is  just  what  is  wanted. 

"  I  had  a  very  good  test  afforded  me  by  which  to  try 
my  humility.  A  good  brother  who  could  scarcely  put 
three  words  together  prayed  very  earnestly  that  God 
would  crown  my  labours,  seeing  that  He  could  bless 
the  weakest  instruments  in  His  service.  You  will 
smile,  and  so  did  I,  but  it  did  me  good,  inasmuch  as  I 
made  it  a  probe  for  my  heart.  Why  should  I  be  un- 
willing for  the  weakest  and  most  illiterate  to  count  me 
among  the  weak  things  of  the  world  and  the  things 
that  'are  not,'  if  I  may  be  but  instrumental  in  win- 
ning souls  for  Christ?  Oh,  I  do  feel  more  than  ever 
the  need  of  crying 


Meta- 
phorical 
hydro- 
pathy. 


Speaking 

with 
liberty. 


"  '  Wean  my  soul,  and  keep  it  low, 
Willing  Thee  alone  to  know.' 

"  I  perceive  the  water  treatment  has  not  yet  brought 
out  all  your  weaknesses,  metaphorically,  I  mean. 
Pray  keep  my  letters  to  yourself.  I  am  sure  I  have 
not  written  one  fit  to  show  to  anybody." 
A  few  days  afterward  Mrs.  Booth  writes: 
"  Last  night  my  subject  went  well.  It  was  by  far 
the  best  effort  I  have  made.  I  spoke  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  with  unwavering  confidence,  liberty,  and  plea- 
sure to  myself,  and,  if  I  may  judge,  with  blessing  to 
the  people.     We  had    an  excellent    day  altogether. 


Ballington  Booth. 


GATESHEAD.  377 

Good  congregation  in  the  morning  and  at  night  the      i860, 
chapel  was  crowded  as  I  have  never  yet  seen  it.     I       ^^  ^^' 
spoke  for  an  hour  ^nd    five   minutes  with  tolerable 
liberty  and  effect.     My  subject  was,  'Be  ye  reconciled 
to  God. '     The  attention  did  not  flag  for  a  moment,  and 
no  one  seemed  aware  that  I  had  spoken  so  long.      I 
intend  to  try  and  be  shorter  for  my  own  health's  sake,    ^^l^^ll 
But  it  is  so  dilScult,  in  dealing  with  a  subject,  to  leave 
unsaid  what  you  think  may  be  useful  to  the  people. 

"  Miss  Newberry  went  home  yesterday.  She  heard  Able  to 
me  both  morning  and  night,  and  said  that  if  I  could  ^wherZ 
get  up  a  dis(;our.se  like  that  in  the  time,  and  under  the 
circumstances,  and  then  go  and  deliver  it  as  I  did,  I 
need  not  fear  to  go  anywhere.  I  value  her  testimony 
as  that  of  the  most  intelligent  and  talented  woman  I 
know.  To  God  be  all  the  praise !  May  He  help  me 
to  devote  every  power  He  has  given  to  His  glory  and 
to  His  only!" 

A  week  later  Mrs.  Booth  says : 

"  We   had  a  splendid    congregation  last  night.     I    Throwiny 

n>  1  11-,  herself  on 

took  cold  on  baturday  and  consequently  had  a  sore       God. 
throat  and  chest  to  begin  with,  and  was  afraid  I  should 
not  be  able  to  make  the  people  hear.     But  I  threw 
myself  on   the   Lord  with  some  confidence  that   He 
would  help  me,  and  spoke  an  hour  with  liberty  and 
strength  of  voice  exceeding  any  time  before.     We  had  Arichin- 
a  powerful  prayer  meeting,  rich  influence,  and  good    fl'^^^<^^- 
praying,  but  only  one   case — a  good  one;  a  middle- 
aged  man,  a  backslider.     There  were  several  under 
conviction,  one  gentleman  from  Newcastle,  whom  Mr. 
McAllam  said  he  was  much  surprised  to  see  there. 
Mr.  Firbank  talked  to  him,  but  he  would  not  come  to 
the  rail.     We  lacked  a  general.     If  you  had  been  there 
we  should  have  had  several  cases,  I  have  no  doubt. 
"At  the  quarterly  meeting,  I  am  told,  very  kind 


3/8  MRS.   BOOTH. 

i860,      recoofnition  was  made  of  my  labours  and  a  resolution 

^^  ^^'    of  thanks  and  sympathy  unanimously  passed.     It  was 

A  vote  of  also  decided  not  to  invite  a  stranger  for  the  Christmas 

thanks.     ^^^^^^  i^^^j-  ^q  g^gk  you  to  take  one  sermon  and  me  the 

other!     This  is  truly  marvellous.     Surely  it    is   the 

Lord's  doing! 

"Pray  for-       "  Do  not  forget  to  pray  for  me.      lam  the  subject 

of  much  temptation  and  conflict.     But  God  knows  my 

heart.      He  sees  I  only  want  to  do  His  will. 

Meeting         "Oh,  liow  thankful  I  am  that  you  are  better!     It 

death 

with       seems  to  make  all  my  other  anxieties  light  and  easy. 

CCtl'iYl'iXCSS 

Even  my  own  health  appears  a  trifle  compared  with 
yours,  and  I  feel  that  infinitely  easier  could  I  meet 
death  myself  than  its  approach  to  you.  I  think  if  I 
were  called  to  die,  I  could  now  do  so  with  calmness, 
reposing  on  the  infinite  merits  of  my  Redeemer.  I 
''I  know  I  know  I  love  Him.     I  know  I  am  striving  after  a  full 

love  him. "  .  ^ 

Divine  conformity  to  His  righteous  will.  Satan 
labours  hard  to  terrify  me,  because  of  the  past.  But 
I  answer  him,  'Where  sin  hath  abounded,  grace  shall 
much  more  abound,'  yea,  and  I  believe  it.  I,  even  I, 
shall  prove  His  uttermost  salvation.  His  fulness  of 
love.  Do  you  pray  for  me?  Are  you  striving  after 
more  of  the  mind  of  Christ?  Are  you  living  by  faith 
in  the  Son  of  God?  May  the  Lord  help  you,  and  bring 
you  home  in  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ!" 
The  Gen-       Mr.  Booth  returned  from  his  furlough  with  health 

CVCll^  s 

return,  improved,  fresh  plans  formed,  and  faith  high  for  the 
achievements  of  the  coming  year.  He  was  received 
by  his  office-bearers  and  people  with  every  manifesta- 
tion of  their  confidence  and  affection,  and  was  es- 
pecially gratified  by  their  assurances  concerning  the 
progress  of  the  work  during  his  absence,  a  resolution 
having  been  unanimously  passed  expressive  of  their 


GATESHEAD.     ■  379 

satisfaction   with    the   able   and    devoted   manner  in       i860, 
which   Mrs.    Booth  had  superintended  the  affairs  of       ^^  ^^" 
the  circuit. 

Writing  to  her  parents  upon  New  Year's  Day,  Mrs.    a  happy 
Booth  gives  the  following  description  of  the  Christ-      mas. 
mas: 

"  We  had  a  very  good  tea-meeting  upon  Christmas 
Day — the  best  attendance  they  have  ever  had.  I 
spoke  an  hour  and  a  few  minutes  upon  'TlT.e  true 
o-lory  of  a  church — embodied  Christianity,'  as  distin- 
guished from  materialism  in  every  shape  and  form. 
I  illustrated  it  by  the  two  temples.  The  latter,  though 
so  far  inferior  to  the  first  in  all  material  grandeur,  is 
yet  declared  to  exceed  it  in  glory,  being  honoured  by 
the  personal  presence  of  Christ.  So  the  glory  of  any  The 
church  is  not  its  architecture,  etc.,  but  the  living  em-  ffchHsi. 
bodiment  of  Christ's  principles  and  benevolence.  I 
should  not  have  spoken,  but  William  wished  me  to, 
and  insisted  on  my  taking  time.  The  Christmas 
collections  have  amounted  to  £6  more  than  last  year, 
when  they  fetched  a  special  preacher  300  miles  for 
the  meetings. 

"  At  a  society  meeting  held  last  week  they  passed  a  suppiy- 
resolution  that  some  blanks  be  left  on  the  next  'plan'  blanks. 
for  Sunday  nights  at  Bethesda,  and  that  I  be  requested 
to  supply  them.  But  I  cannot  give  the  time  to  pre- 
paration unless  I  can  afford  to  put  my  sewing  out.  It 
never  seems  to  occur  to  anybody  that  I  cannot  do  two 
things  at  once,  or  that  I  want  means  to  relieve  me 
of  the  one  while  I  do  the  other!  What  I  do,  I  do 
to  the  Lord.  Still  I  am  conscious  they  are  partakers 
of  the  benefit,  and  could  wish  that  they  would  re- 
member our  temporalities  a  little  more  than  they  do!" 

It  is  only  due  to  the  Circuit  officials  to  say  that  they    Making 

it  UJJ. 

made  up  somewhat  for  their  previous  forgetfulness  by 


3^0  Mas.  BOOTH. 

i860,  offering  a  little  monetary  assistance  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
^^^^'    Booth  before  they  went  away.     And,  no  doubt,  had 

Financial  they  been  aware  of  the  financial  straits  which  made 
straits.  .^  ^^  difficult  for  Mrs.  Booth  to  find  time  for  her  public 
work,  they  would  have  gladly  come  forward  to  supply 
the  needs  of  their  beloved  and  respected  leaders 
rather  than  that  time  should  have  been  wasted  over 
household  details  which  might  have  been  so  profitably 
devoted  to  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Athrifty  A  more  thrifty  housewife  than  Mrs.  Booth  it  would 
wife.  have  been  difficult  to, find.  She  could  not  endure  ex- 
travagance. But  she  was  equally  free  from  meanness. 
She  laboured  that  her  children  should  be  well-fed, 
warmly  and  neatly  clothed,  and  carefully  instructed 
in  all  forms  of  knowledge  that  would  be  likely  to  be 
useful  to  them  and  make  them  a  blessing  to  others  in 
after  life.  She  had  a  conviction — or  should  we  say, 
one  of  those  prophetic  instincts  to  which  she  occasion- 
ally gave  utterance — that  her  children  were  destined 

standing    to  "stand  before  princes,"  and  she  was  resolved   that 

be fo v& 

pnnces.  no  pains  should  be  spared  on  her  part  in  preparing 
them  physically,  intellectually,  and  spiritually  to  make 
the  best  of  the  opportunities  the  future  might  offer  for 
serving  God  and  their  generation.  God  honoured  her 
faith,  and  though  the  financial  burden  continued  to 
press  heavily  upon  her,  the  promise  was  fulfilled  that 
her  bread  should  be  certain  and  her  water  sure. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
MRS.    BOOTH    ON    HOLINESS.      1861. 

Of  the  doctrines  advocated  by  John  Wesley,  next  pardon 
to  the  necessity  of  conversion  there  was  none  on  _p^"Vfy. 
which  he  laid  more  stress  than  on  the  doctrine  of 
sanctification.  By  the  former  he  understood,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  the  possibility  of  receiving  the 
conscious  and  immediate  assurance  of  salvation. 
This  was  his  privilege — nay,  more,  it  was  his  duty. 
Short  of  such  an  experience  none  could  safely  rest. 

Wesley  went,  however,  further  in  asserting  that  not    jndiceii- 
only  could  the  sins  of  the  past  be  pardoned  and  the    '^^Sf*'"*- 
sinner  restored  to  the  family  of  God,   but   that  the 
heart  could  be  purified  by  the  same  power  from  the    a  heart 
evil  tendencies  and  tempers  which  would  otherwise  cleansed. 
prove  too  strong  for  it,  and  render  it  the  helpless  prey 
of  every  passing  temptation.     If,  he  argued,  the  cita- 
del of  the  heart  continued  to  be  occupied  by  anger, 
pride,  love  of  money,  fear  of  man,  and  all  the  other 
thousand  and  one  forms  of  selfishness,  the  whole  at- 
tention of  the  victim  of  such  passions  would  neces- 
sarily be  occupied  in  combating  those  inward  enemies, 
and  there   would    be    little    opportunity,   inclination, 
and  capacity   for  serving  the  Lord   by  carrying   the 
war  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country.     If,  on 
the    contrary,   these   inward   forms   of   evil  were    re- 
moved, every  energy  could  then  be   devoted  to  the 
salvation  of  a  perishing  world. 

The  very  object  of  the  atonement  appeared  to  him 

381 


382 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 

The  name 
Jes^is. 


A  neglect- 
ed doc- 
trine. 


How  it 
cnnie 
about. 


Not 
definite 
enough. 


Getting 

the 
blessing. 


A  glori- 
ous quick- 
ening. 


to  be  the  conquest  and  removal  of  these  indwelling 
evils.  The  very  name  /csus  signified  that  He  was  to 
save  His  people  from  their  sins,  not  merely  to  pardon 
and  condone  sin,  as  so  many  seemed  to  suppose.    • 

Of  late,  however,  this  doctrine  had  ceased  to  occupy 
the  prominence  given  to  it  by  Wesley.  True,  the 
possibility  of  attaining  such  an  experience  continued 
to  be  acknowledged.  Nevertheless,  it  was  no  longer 
advocated  with  the  same  definiteness  and  earnestness 
that  had  marked  it  of  old. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth,  while  constantly  referring  to 
the  subject,  and  always  urging  upon  their  converts 
the  importance  both  of  holy  living  and  of  aggressive 
effort,  had  not  hitherto  directed  their  attention  in  any 
special  manner  to  the  consideration  and  proclamation 
of  this  doctrine.  How  they  came  to  do  so  is  touch- 
ingly  described  by  Mrs.  Booth  in  the  following  letters 
to  her  parents: 

"  My  soul  has  been  much  called  out  of  late  on  the  doctrine 
of  holiness.  I  feel  that  hitherto  we  have  not  put  it  in  a  suffi- 
ciently definite  and  tangible  manner  before  the  people — I 
mean  as  a  specific  and  attainable  experience.  Oh,  that  I  had 
entered  into  the  fulness  of  the  enjoyment  of  it  myself.  I  in- 
tend to  struggle  after  it.  In  the  mean  time  we  have  com- 
menced already  to  bring  it  specially  before  our  dear  people." 

"  February  4th,  1861. 
"  I  spoke  a  fortnight  since  at  Bethesda  on  holiness,  and  a  pre- 
cious time  we  had.  On  the  Sunday  following  two  beautiful 
testimonies  were  given  in  the  love-feast  as  to  the  attainment 
of  the  blessing  through  that  address.  One  of  them,  an  old 
gray-headed  leader,  is  perhaps  the  most  spiritual  man  in  the 
society.  He  had  never  before  seen  it  his  privilege  to  be 
sanctified.  Others  have  claimed  it  since.  William  has 
preached  on  it  twice,  and  there  is  a  glorious  quickening 
amongst  the  people.  I  am  to  speak  again  next  Friday  night 
and  on  Sunday  afternoon.  Pray  for  me.  I  only  want  perfect 
consecration  and  Christ  as  my  all,  and  then  I  might  be  very 


MRS.  BOOTH  ON  HOLINESS. 


383 


useful,  to  the  glory,  not  of  myself,  the  most  unworthy  of  all 
who  e'er  His  grace  received,  but  of  His  great  and  boundless 
love.  May  the  Lord  enable  me  to  give  my  wanderings  o'er 
and  to  find  in  Christ  perfect  peace  and  full  salvation ! 

"  I  have  much  to  be  thankful  for  in  my  dearest  husband. 
The  Lord  has  been  dealing  very  graciously  with  him  for  some 
time  past.  His  soul  has  been  growing  in  grace,  and  its  out- 
ward developments  have  been  proportionate.  He  is  now  on 
full  stretch  for  holiness.  You  would  be  amazed  at  the  change 
in  him.  It  would  take  me  all  night  to  detail  all  the  circum- 
stances and  convergings  of  Providence  and  Grace  which  have 
led  up  to  this  experience,  but  I  assure  you  it  is  a  glorious 
reality,  and  I  know  you  will  rejoice  in  it. 

"  As  has  always  been  the  case  with  every  quickening  we 
have  experienced  in  our  own  souls,  there  has  been  a  renewal 
of  the  evangelistic  question,  especially  in  my  mind.  I  felt  as 
though  that  was  the  point  of  controversy  between  me  and 
God.  Indeed,  I  knew  it  was.  And  on  the  day  I  referred  to  in 
my  last  letter  to  you  I  determined  to  bring  it  to  a  point  be- 
fore the  Lord,  trusting  in  Him  for  strength  to  suffer  as  well 
as  to  do  His  will,  if  He  should  call  me  to  it.  I  did  so.  What 
I  went  through  in  the  conflict  I  could  not,  if  I  would,  describe. 
It  seemed  far  worse  than  death.  Since  that  hour,  however, 
although  I  have  been  tempted,  I  have  not  taken  back  the 
sacrifice  from  the  altar,  but  have  been  enabled  calmly  to 
contemplate  it  as  done. 

"  Such  an  unexpected  surrender  on  my  part  of  course  re- 
vived William's  yearnings  towards  the  evangelistic  work, 
though  in  quite  another  spirit  to  that  in  which  he  used  to  long 
for  it.  In  fact,  now,  I  think  the  sacrifice  will  be  almost  as 
great  to  him  as  to  me.  He  has  got  so  much  more  settled  in 
his  habits,  and  so  fond  of  home.  But  he  feels  as  though  the 
Lord  calls  him  to  it.  So  we  are  going  to  make  it  a  matter  of 
daily  prayer  for  a  week,  and  then  decide,  leaving  all  conse- 
quences with  the  Lo-^d.  He  says  that  we  shall  not  lack  any 
good  thing  if  we  do  His  will,  and  if  He  puts  us  to  the  test 
we  are  going  to  trust  Him  with  each  other — life,  health, 
salary,  and  all. 

"  Will  you  not  pray  that  He  may  reveal  unto  us  His  will  so 
clearly  that  we  cannot  err?  Oh,  for  faith  in  the  simple  word ! 
The  curse  of  this  age  especially  is  unbelief,  frittering  the  real 


i86i, 
Age  32. 


On  full 
stretch 
for  holi- 
ness. 


The  evan- 
gelistic 
question. 


A  terrible 
conflict. 


His 
yearnings 

revive. 


Pray  for 
light. 


384 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


The 

daughter 

ofZion. 


Unbelief 

ties  God's 

hands. 


meaning  of  God's  word  away  and  making  it  all  figure  and 
fiction.  Nothing  but  the  Holy  Ghost  can  so  apply  the  words 
of  God  to  the  soul  that  they  shall  be  what  Jesus  declared 
they  were,  'spirit  and  life.'  May  He  so  apply  them  to  our 
waiting,  anxious  hearts  on  this  momentously  important  sub- 
ject. 

"  I  am  glad  you  got  the  book  I  recommended,  but  I  would 
not  advise  you  to  read  it  all  at  once.  Just  find  some  portion 
that  suits  your  case  and  apply  it  and  pray  over  it,  and  ask  the 
Lord  to  help  you  to  receive  all  the  light  it  is  fitted  to  impart, 
and  then  act  according  to  it.  Believe  it,  or  it  is  of  no  use ! 
The  just  shall  live  hy  faith.  More  than  ever  am  I  deter- 
mined to  keep  clear  of  all  worldly  conformity,  and  to  say  of 
its  maxims,  its  practices,  and  all  its  paltry  gratifications,  'The 
daughter  of  Zion  hath  despised  thee!' 

"  The  Lord  will  order  all  things  if  we  only  do  His  will  and 
trust  Him  with  consequences.  'Them  that  honour  me  I  will 
honour. '  Oh,  what  a  fool  I  have  been !  How  slow,  how  back- 
ward, how  blind,  how  hindered  by  unbelief!  And  even  now 
some  bolts  and  bars  are  round  me,  which  my  foolish  heart  will 
not  consent  to  have  broken  down !  O  unbelief,  truly  it  binds 
the  hands  of  Omnipotence  itself!  'He  could  not  do  many 
mighty  works  because  of  their  unbelief. '  May  the  Lord  in- 
crease our  faith  1 " 


Thanks 

for 
prayers. 


How  to 

get  the 

blessing. 


"nth   February,  1861. 

"  Your  very  kind  letter  came  duly  to  hand.  We  are  very 
much  obliged  for  the  readiness  with  which  you  promise  to 
join  us  in  praying  about  this  very  important  matter  of  our 
future  work.  I  hope,  nay,  I  believe,  God  will  guide  us.  I 
think  we  are  fully  willing  to  be  led  by  Him.  I  have  not 
prayed  much  specifically  about  it  at  present,  simply  because 
my  mind  has  been  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  holiness,  which 
I  feel  involves  this  and  every  other  blessing.  If  I  am  only 
fully  the  Lord's  He  has  unalterably  bound  Himself  to  be  the 
portion  of  my  inheritance  for  ever. 

This,  of  late,  I  have  especially  realised,  and  a  week  ago  last 
Friday,  when  I  made  the  surrender  referred  to  in  my  last,  I 
saw  that  in  order  to  carry  out  my  vow  in  the  true  spirit  of 
consecration  I  must  have  a  whole  Christ,  a  perfect  Saviour. 
I  therefore  resolved  to  seek  till  I  found  that  'pearl  of  great 


MRS.  BOOTH  ON  HOLINESS. 


385 


price' — 'the  white  stone,  which  no  man  knoweth,  save  he 
that  receiveth  it. '  I  perceived  that  I  had  been  in  some  de- 
gree of  error  with  reference  to  the  nature,  or  rather  the  at- 
tainment of  sanctification,  regarding  it  rather  as  a  great  and 
mighty  work  to  be  wrought  in  me  through  Christ,  than  the 
simple  reception  of  Christ  as  an  all-sufficient  Saviour,  dwell- 
ing in  my  heart,  and  thus  cleansing  it  every  moment 
from  all  sin.  I  had  been  earnestly  seeking  all  the  week 
to  apprehend  Him  as  my  Saviour  in  this  sense,  but  on 
Thursday  and  Friday  I  was  totally  absorbed  in  the  subject. 
I  laid  aside  almost  everything  else  and  spent  the  chief  part 
of  the  day  in  reading  and  prayer,  and  in  trying  to  believe  for 
it.  On  Thursday  afternoon  at  tea-time  I  was  well-nigh  dis- 
couraged and  felt  my  old  visitant,  irritability.  The  devil  told 
me  I  should  never  get  it,  and  so  I  might  as  well  give  it  up  at 
once.  However,  I  knew  him  of  old  as  a  liar  and  the  father  of 
lies,  and  pressed  on — cast  down,  yet  not  destroyed. 

"  On  Friday  morning  God  gave  me  two  precious  passages. 
First,  '  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest. '  Oh,  how  sweet  it  sounded  to  my 
poor,  weary,  sin-stricken  soul !  I  almost  dared  to  believe  that 
He  did  give  me  rest  from  inbred  sin,  the  rest  of  perfect  holi- 
ness. But  I  staggered  at  the  promise,  through  unbelief,  and 
therefore  failed  to  enter  in.  The  second  passage  consisted 
of  those  thrice-blessed  words:  'Of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  righteotisness,  sanctification, 
and  redemption!'  But  again  unbelief  hindered  me,  although 
I  felt  as  if  getting  gradually  nearer. 

"  I  struggled  through  the  day  until  a  little  after  six  in  the 
evening,  when  William  joined  me  in  prayer.  We  had  a 
blessed  season.  While  he  was  saying,  'Lord,  we  open  our 
hearts  to  receive  Thee,'  that  word  was  spoken  to  my  soul: 
'Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.  If  any  man  hear  My 
voice,  and  open  unto  Me,  I  will  come  in  and  sup  with  him.' 
I  felt  sure  He  had  long  been  knocking,  and  oh,  how  I  yearned 
to  receive  him  as  a  perfect  Saviour!  But  oh,  the  inveterate 
habit  of  unbelief!  How  wonderful  that  God  should  have 
borne  so  long  with  me ! 

"  When  we  got  up  from  our  knees  I  lay  on  the  sofa,  exhausted 
with  the  excitement  and  effort   of  the   day.     William   said, 
'Don't  you  lay  all  on  the  altar? '     I  replied,  'I  am  sure  I  do! ' 
25 


1861, 
Age  32. 


The  sim,' 
pie  in- 
dwelling 
of  Christ. 


Hindered 

by  tm- 
belief. 


"  I  will 
come  in.'' 


All  on  the 
altar. 


386 


MRS.    BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


Now  are 
ye  clean. 


Entering 
into   rest. 


What  it 

depends 

upon. 


■  Idvhin 
II nd  boaz. 


Then  he  said,  'And  isn't  the  altar  holy?'  I  replied  in  the 
language  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  'The  altar  is  most  holy,  and 
whatsoever  toucheth  it  is  holy.'  Then  said  he,  'Are  you  not 
holy?  '  I  replied  with  my  heart  full  of  emotion  and  with  some 
faith,  'Oh,  I  think  1  am.'  Immediately  the  word  was  given 
me  to  confiirm  my  faith,  'Now  are  ye  clean  through  the  word 
which  I  have  spoken  unto  you. '  And  I  took  hold — true,  with 
a  trembling  hand,  and  not  unmolested  by  the  tempter,  but  I 
held  fast  the  beginning  of  my  confidence,  and  it  grew 
stronger,  and  from  that  moment  I  have  dared  to  reckon  my- 
self dead  indeed  unto  sin,  and  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus 
Christ,  my  Lord. 

"  I  did  not  feel  much  rapturous  joy,  but  perfect  peace,  the 
sweet  rest  which  Jesus  promised  to  the  heavy-laden.  I  have 
understood  the  Apostle's  meaning  when  he  says,  'We  who  be- 
lieve do  enter  into  rest.'  This  is  just  descriptive  of  my  state 
at  present.  Not  that  I  am  not  tempted,  but  I  am  allowed  to 
know  the  devil  when  he  approaches  me,  and  I  look  to  my 
Deliverer  Jesus,  and  He  still  gives  me  rest.  Two  or  three 
very  trying  things  occurred  on  Saturday,  which  at  another 
time  would  have  excited  impatience,  but  I  was  kept  by  the 
power  of  God  through  faith  unto  full  salvation. 

"  And  now  what  shall  I  say?  'Unto  Him  who  hath  washed 
me  in  His  own  blood  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever,'  and  all  Vv^ithin  me  says  'Amen!  '  Oh,  I  cannot  describe, 
I  have  no  words  to  set  forth,  the  sense  I  have  of  my  own  utter 
unworthiness.  Satan  has  met  me  frequently  with  my  pecu- 
liarly aggravated  sins,  and  I  have  admitted  it  all.  But  then  I 
have  said  the  Lord  ha?  not  made  my  sanctification  to  depend 
in  any  measure  on  my  own  worthiness,  or  unworthiness,  but 
on  the  worthiness  of  my  Saviour.  He  came  to  seek  and  to 
save 'that  which  was  lost. '  'Where  sin  hath  abounded  grace 
doth  much  more  abound.' 

"  And  now,  my  dear  parents,  will  you  let  it  abound  towards 
you?     'Whosoever  will,  let  him  come  and  take  freely! '" 

Like  the  twin  pillars,  Jacliin  and  Boaz,  which  were 
reared  by  Solomon  in  the  porch  of  the  Temple,  so 
the  twin  doctrines,  Conversion  and  Sanctification, 
were  raised  in  the  forefront  of  the  Salvation  Army 
Zion.      Ir  the  glorious  possibility  of  pardon,  it  was  to 


MJiS.  BOOTH  ON  HOLINESS. 


387 


be  "established,"  and  in  the  no  less  precious  privilege 
of  purity  it  was  to  find  its  "strength,"  The  founders 
of  the  movement  were  to  transmit  to  their  followers 
the  double  shepherd's  staff  of  Bands  and  Beauty,  bind- 
ing them  on  the  one  hand  to  the  blessed  experience  of 
a  forgiven  child  of  God,  and  introducing  them  on  the 
other  to  all  the  matchless  "beauty  of  holiness." 

Speaking  subsequently  on  this  subject  Mrs.  Booth 
says: 

"  I  think  it  must  be  self-evident  that  it  is  the  most  important 
question  that  can  possibly  occupy  the  mind  of  man,  how  much 
like  God  we  can  be — how  near  to  God  we  can  come  on  earth 
preparatory  to  our  being  perfectly  like  Him,  and  living,  as  it 
were,  in  His  very  heart  for  ever  and  ever  in  heaven.  Any 
one  who  has  any  measure  of  the  Spirit  of  God  must  perceive 
that  this  is  the  most  important  question  on  which  we  can  con- 
centrate our  thoughts ;  and  the  mystery  of  mysteries  to  me  is, 
how  any  one,  with  any  measure  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  can  help 
looking  at  this  blessing  of  holiness,  and  saying,  'Well,  even 
if  it  does  seem  too  great  for  attainment  on  earth,  it  is  very 
beautiful  and  very  blessed.  I  wish  I  could  attain  it. '  77iat, 
it  seems  to  me,  must  be  the  attitude  of  every  person  who  has 
the  Spirit  of  God — that  he  should  hunger  and  thirst  after  it, 
and  feel  that  he  shall  never  be  satisfied  till  he  wakes  up  in  the 
lovely  likeness  of  his  Saviour.  And  yet,  alas !  we  do  not  find 
it  so.  In  a  great  many  instances,  the  very  first  thing  profess- 
ing Christians  do  is  to  resist  and  reject  this  doctrine  of  holi- 
ness as  if  it  were  the  most  foul  thing  on  earth. 

"  I  heard  of  a  gentleman  saying,  a  few  days  ago — a  leader 
in  one  circle  of  religion — that  for  anybody  to  talk  about  be- 
ing holy  showed  that  they  knew  nothing  of  themselves  and 
nothing  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  said,  'O  my  God!  it  has  come  to 
something  if  holiness  and  Jesus  Christ  are  the  antipodes  of 
each  other.  I  thought  He  was  the  centre  and  fountain  of  holi- 
ness. I  thought  it  was  in  Him  alone  we  could  get  any  holi- 
ness, and  through  Him  only  that  holiness  could  be  wrought 
in  us. '     But  this  poor  man  thought  otherwise. 

"  We  are  told  over  and  over  again  that  God  wants  His  peo- 
ple to  be  pure,  and  that  purity  in  their  hearts  is  the 


1861, 
Age  32. 


Bands 

and 
Beauty. 


How 
much  can 
trc  rcftem- 
ble  God? 


Hunger- 
ing for  it. 


It  is 
possible. 


The  birth 
of  the 
Gospel. 


388 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


To  be  and 
to  do. 


A  ttvo- 

sided 

scheme. 


The  con- 
dition. 


Worldly 
conform- 
ity. 


No 
sacrifice. 


VERY  CENTRAL  IDEA  AND  END  AND  PURPOSE  OF  THE  GoSPEL  OF 

Jesus  Christ;  if  it  is  not  so,  I  give  up  the  whole  question — I 
am  utterly  deceived. 

"  Oh  that  people,  in  their  inquiries  about  this  blessing  of 
holiness,  would  keep  this  one  thing  before  their  minds— that 
it  is  dein^  saved  from  sin;  sin  in  act,  in  purpose,  in  thought ! 

"  After  all,  what  does  God  want  with  us?  He  wants  us  just 
to  be  and  to  do.  He  wants  us  to  be  like  His  Son,  and  then  to 
do  as  His  Son  did;  and  when  we  come  to  that  He  will  shake 
the  world  through  us.  People  say,  'You  can't  be  like  His 
Son. '  Very  well,  then,  you  will  never  get  any  more  than  you 
believe  for.  If  I  did  not  think  Jesus  Christ  strong  enough  to 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil  and  to  bring  us  back  to  God's 
original  pattern,  I  would  throw  the  whole  thing  up  for  ever. 
What!  He  has  given  us  a  religion  we  cannot  practise?  I  say, 
No!  He  has  not  come  to  mock  us.  "What!  He  has  given  us 
a  Saviour  who  cannot  save?  Then  I  decline  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  Him.  What!  does  He  profess  to  do  for  me  what 
He  cannot?  No,  no,  no.  He  'is  not  a  man,  that  He  should 
lie:  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  He  should  repent:'  and  I 
tell  you  that  His  scheme  of  salvation  is  two-sided — it  is  God- 
ward  and  manward.  It  contemplates  me  as  well  as  it  con- 
templates the  great  God.  It  is  not  a  scheme  of  salvation 
merely — it  is  a  scheme  of  restoration.  If  He  cannot  restore 
me  He  must  damn  me.  If  He  cannot  heal  me,  and  make  me 
over  again,  and  restore  me  to  the  pattern  He  intended  me  to 
be,  He  has  left  Himself  no  choice. 

"True,  there  is  the  condition,  'Be  not  conformed  to  this 
world :  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind, 
that  ye  may  prove. '  Oh !  if  you  could  be  transformed  to  Him 
and  conformed  to  this  world  at  the  same  time,  all  the  difficulty 
would  be  over.  I  know  plenty  of  people  who  would  be  trans- 
formed directly ;  but,  to  be  not  conformed  to  this  world — how 
they  stand  and  wince  at  that !  They  cannot  have  it  at  that  price. 
But  God  will  not  be  revealed  to  such  souls,  though  they  cry 
and  pray  themselves  to  skeletons,  and  go  mourning  all  their 
days.  They  will  not  fulfil  the  condition — 'Be  not  conformed 
to  this  world;'  they  will  not  forego  their  conformity  even  to 
the  extent  of  a  dinner-party. 

"  A  great  many  that  I  know  will  not  forego  their  confor- 
mity to  the  shape  of  their  head-dress,      They  won't  forego 


MRS.  BOOTH  ON  HOLINESS. 


389 


the  conformity  to  the  extent  of  giving  vip  visiting  and 
receiving  visits  from  ungodly,  worldly,  hollow,  and  super- 
ficial people.  They  will  not  forego  their  conformity  to 
the  tune  of  having  their  domestic  arrangements  upset — 
no,  not  if  the  salvation  of  their  children,  and  servants,  and 
friends  depends  upon  it.  The  sine  qua  7ton  is  their  own  com- 
fort, and  then  take  what  you  can  get  on  God's  side.  'We 
must  have  this,  and  we  must  have  the  other ;  and  then,  if  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  come  in  at  the  tail  end  and  sanctify  it 
all,  we  shall  be  very  much  obliged  to  Him ;  but  we  cannot 
forego  these  things. ' 

"  Finally,  to  obtain  this  blessed  experience,  there  is  the 
great  desideratum,  faith.  You  can't  know  it  by  understand- 
ing. Oh!  if  the  world  could  have  known  it  by  understanding, 
what  a  deal  they  would  have  known !  But  He  despises  all 
your  philosophy.  It  is  not  by  understanding,  but  by  faith! 
If  ever  you  know  God  it  will  be  by  faith ;  becoming  as  a  little 
child — opening  your  heart,  and  saying,  'Lord,  pour  in;'  and 
then  your  quibbles  and  difficulties  will  be  gone,  and  you  will 
see  holiness,  sanctification,  purity,  perfect  love,  burning  out 
on  every  page  of  God's  Word. 

"  A  minister — a  devoted,  good  man — was  trying  to  show  me 
that  this  sanctification  was  too  big  to  be  got  and  kept.  I 
said,  'My  dear  sir,  how  do  you  know?  If  another  man  has 
faith  to  march  up  to  Jesus  Christ  and  say,  "  Here,  I  see  this 
in  your  Book ;  you  have  promised  this  to  me  ;  now,  then,  Lord, 
I  have  faith  to  take  it;"  mind  you  don't  measure  his  privilege 
hy  your  faith.  Do  you  think  the  Church  has  come  up  to  His 
standard  of  privilege  and  obligation?  I  don't.  It  has  many 
marches  to  make  yet.  Mind  you  don't  hinder  anybody.' 
The  law  of  the  Kingdom  all  the  way  through  to  your  djang 
moment  will  be  'According  to  your  faith.'  If  you  want  this 
blessing,  put  down  your  quibbles^  put  your  feet  on  your  argu- 
ments, march  up  to  the  Throne  and  ask  for  it,  and  kill,  and 
crucify,  and  cast  from  you  the  accursed  thing  which  hinders, 
and  then  you  shall  have  it;  and  the  Lord  will  fill  you  with 
His  power  and  glory." 


1861, 
Age  32. 


Looking 
after 
them  ■ 
selves. 


Hoiv  to 
get  if. 


Is  it  too 

much  to 

expect  ? 


A  low 
standard. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

"JUST  BEFORE  THE  BATTLE."     1861. 

Critical  In  the  history  of  men,  as  in  the  history  of  nations, 
there  are  critical  moments  when  incalculable  interests 
tremble  in  the  balance,  and  it  seems  that  a  feather 
would  suffice  to  turn  the  scale.  Particularly  is  this 
the  case  with  those  who  rise  up  from  time  to  time  as 
the  champions  of  humanity.     It  is  only  when  they 

The  red-    havc  darcd   to  brave  the  fiery  ordeal,  and  cross  the 

hot   bars.  ■' 

seven-fold  heated  bars  which  opposition  and  prejudice 
lay  at  their  feet,  that  the   accomplishment  of   their 
heart's  desire  becomes  attainable.     The  moment  ar- 
rives when,  without  risking  everything,  nothing  can 
be  won.     Those  who  are  not    prepared   to  sacrifice 
must  be  content  to  fail. 
Blood-         The    choicest    privileges    of    mankind    have    been 
bought  with    blood.       What    is    best    worth    buying 
costs    the    most.       The    Cross    is    the    price    for   the 
Crown  and  Calvary  the    only    gateway  to   resurrec- 
tion   glory.      If  good    desires  would    save    mankind, 
it  would  surely  have  been  delivered  long  ago.     The 
difference    between    idle   wishes  and   the   deliberate 
heart  choice  of  the  world's  true  benefactors  is,  that 
™    „        the  latter  consent  to  pay  the  price  which   sofne  one  has 
h^ith^^^'f  ^^  ^^^'     '^^^  Cross    is  the   divinely  appointed    shib- 
the  hypo-  boleth  for  the  detection  of  the  hypocrite.     No  insin- 

crite.  T         1  ^    1     1  ,.  . .     1 

cere  and  selfish  heart  can     frame  to  pronounce    the 

390 


"JUST  BEFORE    THE  BATTLE."  39 1 

word.     The  Ephraimite  is  betrayed  by  his  lisp,  and      1861, 
fails  in  his  attempt  to  cross  the  ford. 

It  was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Broken 
Booth.  Hitherto  they  had  bowed  their  necks  to  the  p^*^^^^^^- 
Connexional  yoke  in  the  belief  that  the  promises  of  a 
return  to  their  evangelistic  sphere  would  ultimately 
and  unanimously  be  afforded  them.  Four  years  they 
had  waited,  but  only  to  be  disappointed.  That  they 
could  be  useful  in  a  circuit  they  had  abundantly 
proved,  but  that  they  could  accomplish  still  greater 
results  in  the  coveted  position  where  they  had  pre- 
viously been  blessed  in  so  remarkable  a  manner  was 
equally  clear. 

The    question    now    presented    itself    forcibly   to  Tiie  ques- 

,      .  ^      .  -^    ,        ,  ,  .         .„     -,       tionof 

their  consciences,  as  to  whether  they  were  justified  the  hour. 
in  submitting  any  longer  to  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
handful  of  persons,  who  were  obviously  influenced 
by  unworthy  motives  in  denying  them  a  position  of 
greater  usefulness.  True,  it  was  possible  that  Con- 
ference might  reconsider  their  position,  and  fulfil  the 
pledges  which  had  hitherto  reconciled  them  to  their 
lot,  but  in  the  event  of  this  not  being  the  case  what 
were  they  to  do?  To  face  the  world  alone  would 
have  been  easy.  But  now  a  delicate  wife  and  four 
little  children  had  to  be  considered. 

The  recent  break-down  of  Mr.  Booth's  health  had    Their  at- 
reminded  them  that  his  constitution  was  not    of    the      to  the 
strongest.    Added  to  these  difficulties  th-ere  was  a  warm     nexton. 
personal  attachment  to  the  large  circle  of  Connexional 
members  with  whom  their  labours  had  brought  them 
into  contact,  and  a  deep-rooted   desire  to  advance  the 
highest  interests  of  the  body.     None  of  these  consider- 
ations, however,  appeared  to  lessen  the  responsibility 
of  their  present  position.     And  they  resolved  with  the 
most  perfect  unanimity  that  if  the  Conference  once 


392 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


A  letter 
to  the 
Com- 
mittee. 


Expresses 
his  con- 
victions. 


Called  to 
it. 


The  two 
spheres 

com- 
pared. 


Past 
results. 


more  refused  to  fulfil  their  long-standing  pledge,  they 
would  commit  their  needs  to  God,  and  go  forth  to  do 
His  will  in  simple  reliance  upon  His  promises. 

No  sooner  had  this  decision  been  arrived  at  than 
they  proceeded  to  prepare  the  following  letter  to  the 
Annual  Committee,  formally  broaching  the  subject 
and  offering  themselves  for  reappointment  to  the 
evangelistic  sphere : 

"  NoRMANBY  Terrace,  Gateshead, 

"  March  5th,  1861, 
"  To  the  Rev.  James  Stacey,  President  of  the  Methodist  New 
Connexion. 
"  My  Dear  Sir: — It  has  long  been  on  my  mind  to  lay  before 
you,  as  the  president  of  our  denomination,  my  views  and  con- 
victions with  respect  to  my  present  and  future  position.  I 
do  this  in  all  plainness  and  candour,  appealing  to  your  judg- 
ment, confiding  in  your  sympathy,  and  requesting  your 
counsel. 


"  This  question  comes  before  me  in  something  like  the  fol- 
lowing form : 

*'  I.  For  the  last  seven  years  I  have  felt  that  God  has  spe- 
cially called  me  to  this  work.  The  impression  has  been  clear 
and  decided.  I  am  as  satisfied  of  it  as  I  am  of  my  call  to  the 
ministry.  It  is  now  four  years  since  I  was  put  down  from  it, 
and  the  impression,  instead  of  dying  away,  is  as  strong  and 
vivid  as  ever. 

"  II.  I  am  satisfied  that  in  that  work  I  can  be  most  success- 
ful in  bringing  souls  to  Christ,  promoting  the  prosperity  of 
the  Church  and  the  glory  of  God.  I  have  seen  a  measure  of 
success  in  my  present  sphere ;  but  I  submit  that  there  is  no 
comparison  between  my  success  in  the  one  sphere  and  in  the 
other.  Many,  very  many,  who  during  that  two  years  and  a 
half  of  labour  were  brought  to  God  are  now  safe  in  heaven. 
Several,  I  think  five  or  six,  are  now  in  our  ministry,  and 
others  are  preparing  for  it;  many  are  in  the  ranks  of  our 
local  preachers,  and  I  hesitate  not  to  say  that  hundreds  are 
enrolled  in  our  membership.  I  think  the  position  peculiarly 
favourable  to  such  results,  and  I  largely  attribute  the  success 


"JUST  BEFORE   THE  BATTLE." 


393 


to  the  combined  and   consecutive  labour  and  prayer  of  the 
Church  which  such  efforts  call  forth. 

"  III.  The  united  testimony  of  those  who  know  me  in  the 
work  is  to  the  effect  that  the  Lord  has  given  me  a  measure  of 
adaptation  for  it. 

"  IV.  In  that  work  I  am  the  happiest.  I  have  never  been 
really  happy  or  settled  in  my  mind  since  I  left  it.  I  have 
tried  to  banish  all  thought  of  it,  and  to  conclude  that  if  the 
Lord  wanted  me  He  would  thrust  me  out.  For  a  season  it 
has  been  left  in  abeyance ;  but  in  a  very  short  time  it  has 
come  up  again,  and  I  have  been  as  unsettled  as  ever. 

"  V.  I  have  not  been  successful  out  of  the  work ;  that  is,  the 
success  realized  by  me  in  a  circuit  has  not  been  in  any  way 
proportionate  to  the  measures  employed.  God  has  seemed 
ever  to  be  disappointing  my  most  rational  and  Scriptural  ex- 
pectations, as  though  He  foresaw  that,  if  all  the  success  I  de- 
sired was  given  me,  I  should  at  once  give  up  the  evangelistic 
work  to  which  He  called  me. 

"  VI.  I  am  now  under  no  obligation  to  a  circuit ;  my  third 
year  expires  next  Conference,  and  I  am  free  to  go  elsewhere. 

"  VII.  The  Lord  has  removed  several  other  obstacles  out  of 
the  way.  Among  others,  my  dear  wife  has  voluntarily  con- 
sented to  the  separation  which  my  going  forth  would  involve. 
In  fact,  in  this  matter,  we  have  both  been  enabled  to  offer 
our  all  to  God,  being  willing  to  submit  to  any  self-denying 
circumstances  He  may  appoint  in  order  to  do  His  will. 

"  VIII.  My  soul  lately  has  been  brought  into  a  higher  walk 
of  Christian  experience ;  and  with  purer  motives,  holier  de- 
sires and  aims,  and  a  fuller  consecration,  my  soul  turns  to 
this  work  as  to  the  sphere  in  which  God  designs  to  bless  me. 

"  IX.  The  reasons  assigned  by  the  Conference  for  my  tak- 
ing a  circuit  have  all  been  met.  So  far  as  I  remember  them 
— that  is,  those  that  were  worth  noticing — they  were  the  fol- 
lowing : 


1861, 
Age  32. 

Others 
testify. 


Happy  in 
the  rvork. 


Less  suc- 
cessful 
elsewhere. 


Free    to 
go. 

My  tvife 
is  willing. 


My  souVs 
desire. 


The 

reasons 

met. 


"  I.  That  I  might  have  a  certificate  according  to  the  rule 
and  usage  of  the  Connexion,  it  being  the  last  year  of  my 
probation.  This  was  met  by  my  having  a  certificate,  and 
being  received  into  full  connexion. 

"  2.  That  my  Connexional  attachment  might  be  proved;  it 
not  being  thought  safe  to  trust  an  untried  stranger  with  the 


In  full 
connex- 
ion. 


No  longer 
an  un- 
tried 
stranger. 


394 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32, 


No 
expense. 


influence  that  the  position  of  evangelist  gave  me.  This,  too, 
I  think,  has  been  met.  The  very  fact  of  my  bowing  to  the 
decision  proved  it,  when  I  might  have  acted  so  differently. 
The  Stationing  Cammittee  must  have  been  satisfied  on  this 
point  three  years  ago,  when  they  entrusted  me  with  the  su- 
perintendency  of  a  circuit;  and  to  this,  moreover,  let  the 
impioved  Connexional  character  of  this  circuit  testify. 

"  3.  The  outlay  in  which  my  labours  involved  the  yearly 
collection.  This  outlay,  I  submit,  need  not  with  careful  ar- 
rangement have  been  incurred  in  the  past,  and  need  not  be 
incurred  in  the  future,  as  I  shall  afterwards  show. 


It  is 
Script- 
ural. 


Others 
do   it. 


An  open 
door. 


How    to 
do  it. 


"  X.  I  am  clearly  convinced  of  the  Scriptural  character  of 
the  office  of  evangelist.  This,  I  think,  I  have  heard  you 
maintain,  nor  do  I  know  that  any  deny  it. 

"  XI.  Other  churches  are  successfully  availing  themselves 
of  this  kind  of  agency,  amongst  which  are  the  Wesleyans, 
Presbyterians,  Methodist  Free  Churches,  Independents,  and 
Baptists. 

"  XII.  Nqver  was  there  in  this  country  so  wide  a  door  open 
for  this  class  of  labourers  as  now.  As  you  are  aware,  in 
London,  and  many  parts  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  all  over  the 
world,  this  class  of  agencies  have  attracted  the  ear  of  vast 
masses  of  the  people,  and  a  great  amount  of  good  has  been 
done. 

"  To  me  there  appear  two  ways  by  which  I  may  find  admis- 
sion to  this  sphere : 


A  central 
totvn. 


"  I.  For  the  Conference  to  employ  me  in  the  following,  or 
some  similar  manner,  as  might  appear  to  them  wisest: 

"  I.  To  reside  in  some  town  central  to  a  number  of  our  inter- 
ests, and  to  labour  in  the  churches  inviting  me  immediately 
around  it;  of  course  going  further  away,  if  not  sufficient 
labour  near  home  to  fill  up  my  time.  When  travelling  be- 
fore, I  visited  places  where  I  received  invitations  sufficient  to 
have  occupied  me  twelve  months  without  going  twenty  miles 
away  from  one  centre. 

"  2.  To  labour  under  the  direction  of  the  President  of  Con- 
ference, the  Chairman  of  the  District,  or  the  Superintendent 
My  salary   of  the  circuit  where,  for  the  time  being,  I  resided. 
raised.  "  3-  My  salary  to  be  the  same  as  other  ministers'.     To  be 


''  JUST  BEFORE   THE  BATTLE."- 


395 


obtained  by  the  places  where  I  labour  giving-  so  much  per 
week  for  my  services,  as  before ;  which,  with  the  exception  of 
two  places,  was  always  obtained  with  the  greatest  ease ;  in 
many  cases  leaving  large  sums  of  money  to  devote  to  local 
purposes. 

"  4.  Every  church  where  I  laboured  successfully  to  be  re- 
quested to  make  an  offering  towards  a  fund  to  enable  me  to 
labour  in  poor  churches.  Towards  this  fund  I  think  I  know 
some  of  our  wealthy  friends  who  would  subscribe.  Further 
details  I  am  prepared  to  produce,  should  they  be  required, 
and  I  am,  I  think,  prepared  likewise  to  meet  the  various 
difficulties  that  may  suggest  themselves  in  the  working  out 
of  this  plan. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


A  central 
fund. 


"  II.  The  second  way  to  which  I  referred  would  be  for  the 
Conference  to  grant  me  a  location ;  allowing  my  name  to  ap- 
pear on  the  minutes,  and  recognising  me  as  a  regular  minister 
of  the  body,  with  the  privilege  of  returning  to  the  itinerancy 
when  the  providence  of  God  might  direct,  on  the  condition 
that  iny  labours  were  devoted  to  the  Connexion  so  far  as  it 
offers  me  a  sphere.  Of  course,  if  a  sufficient  amount  of  labour 
was  not  provided  me  by  it,  it  could  not  be  objected  that  I 
should  fill  up  my  time  by  accepting  the  invitations  of  other 
churches,  as  this  plan  would  involve  the  giving  up  of  my 
salary,  and  going  forth  with  my  wife  and  family  to  trust  en- 
tirely in  the  Lord;  as  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  any 
guarantee  whatever  save  that  of  Him  who  has  said,  'Every  one 
that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or 
mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  My  name's  sake,  shall 
receive  an  hundred-fold,  and  shall  inherit  everlasting  life. ' 

"  On  this  subject  my  mind  has  been  much  exercised.  I 
have  been  impressed  that,  when  willing  to  this.  He  would 
open  my  way ;  and  I  think  I  can  say  I  am  now  willing.  "  I 
need  not  say  how  much  more  agreeable  and  welcome  the 
adoption  of  the  first  plan  would  be,  and  how  much  less  anxiety 
and  self-sacrifice  it  would  involve  ;  I  only  suggest  the  latter  in 
case  the  former  should  be  rejected. 

"  Probably  the  question  will  be  asked,  'Is  my  health  equal 
to  the  work?'  To  this  I  reply,  that,  through  the  mercy  of 
God,  my  throat  is  perfectly  restored ;  and  from  experience  in 
a  circuit,  and  in  the  evangelistic  work,  I  am  convinced  that 


Locate 
me. 


No 
salary. 


Mucn  ex- 
ercised. 


The 
strain 
not  too 
great. 


396 


MRS.   BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


Deprecate 
a  dispute. 


The 
Annual 
Com- 
mittee. 


A  cold 
response. 


Prepared 
fur  the 
tvorst. 


my  health  will  stand  the  one  as  well  as  the  other,  with  season- 
able rest  and  ordinary  care. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  I  have  laid  the  matter  before  you. 
I  should  very  much  deplore  any  unpleasant  discussion  in  the 
Conference.  I  could  not  consent  to  re-engage  in  the  work  by 
an  insignificant  majority.  I  sincerely  and  strongly  desire  to 
spend  my  time  and  energies  in  promoting  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  the  Connexion.  I  wish  to  labour  with  the  fullest  ap- 
probation and  co-operation  of  my  brethren,  neither  do  I  see 
any  righteous  reason  why  this  should  not  be  the  case. 

"All  well,  I  intend  to  call  at  Sheffield  on  Friday,  the  15th 
instant,  on  my  way  to  Birmingham,  in  order  to  consult  you 
on  the  question,  which,  to  give  you  opportunity  for  consider- 
ation, I  have  at  this  length  laid  before  you.  Should  you  in 
the  mean  time  meet  the  Annual  Committee,  will  you  kindly 
lay  this  matter  before  them,  and  ascertain  their  judgment  in 
reference  to  it?     And  may  the  Lord  guide  you  in  counsel. 

"  With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Stacey,  in  which  Mrs.  Booth 
unites,  "  Believe  me  to  remain, 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"William  Booth." 

It  was  not  till  the  beginning  of  May  that  Mr.  Booth 
received  any  reply  to  this  commiinication ,  and  then 
only  to  the  effect  that  the  answer  had  been  delayed 
owing  to  Mr.  Stacey's  illness,  but  that  there  had  been 
a  meeting  of  the  Annual  Committee,  at  which  the 
letter  had  been  considered,  and  that  three  out  of  the 
four  members  present  "had  thought  it  best  to  lay  the 
matter  before  the  Conference  for  free  and  open  dis- 
cussion. Not  a  word  of  counsel,  nor  a  symptom  of 
approval  was  conveyed,  and  it  was  manifest  that  the 
proposal  would  encounter  from  certain  parties  as  vig- 
orous an  opposition  as  ever. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth,  however,  were  now  prepared 
for  the  worst.  They  were  assured  that,  whatever 
might  be  the  issue  of  the  conflict,  the  ultimate  result 
could  not  fail  to  be  a  distinct  improvement  on  their 
present  unsatisfactory  position.     If  they  were  success- 


"JUST  BEFORE    THE  BATTLE."  397 

ful  in  carrying  their  point,  they  would  have  the  in-  1861, 
tense  satisfaction  of  retaining  their  position  in  the  ^^^  ^^' 
Connexion  and  at  the  same  time  of  obeying  the  dic- 
tates of  conscience.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Con- 
ference should  refuse  their  request,  they  would  realise 
they  had  done  their  duty,  and  their  future  pathway, 
if  lonely,  would'  be  clear. 

In  sending  to  her  parents  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  the 
President,  Mrs.  Booth  writes: 

"  I  hope  you  received  my  last  all  right,  with  a  copy  of  our        The 
letter  to  the  President,  and  that  you  forwarded  it  to  Dr.  Cooke,      ctpathy 
Send  us  word  what  you  thought  of  it.     I  don't  see  how  they     church. 
can  object  to  granting  the  second  plan,  and  I  would  prefer 
that  to  the  first.     William  would  be  then  entirely  master  of 
his  own  movements,  and  would  not  be  harassed  by  a  com- 
mittee.    Oh,  the  more  I  see  of  the  church  and  its  ministry  the 
more  deeply  am  I  convinced  that  such  an  instrumentality  is 
what  is  needed.     The  apathy  and  blindness  and  unconcern  of 
Christians  generally,  both   ministers   and  people,    are  truly 
awful !     And  while  the  church  sleeps  souls  by  thousands  are 
dropping  into  perdition.     May  God  in  mercy  use  us  in  some 
humble   degree  to   awaken   half-hearted   professors,    and  to 
bring  lost  sinners  to  God!" 

Nor  were  they  left  in   this  critical  hour  without   Two  hun- 
tokens  of  Divine  approval.     A  series  of  revival    ser-  %lttrnt 
vices  held  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  at  Bethesda  -^^^'^''s^"- 
Chapel  had  resulted  in  two  hundred  persons  professing 
conversion.      The   quarterly  returns    showed  an   in- 
crease of  more  than  three  hundred  members  to  the 
circuit  during  the  three  years  of  their  appointment.        The 
The  annual  District  meeting,  held  in  Durham  previous    meeting. 
to  the  meeting  of  the  Conference,  had  been  memori- 
alised by  the  Gateshead  Circuit  to  ask  that  Mr.  Booth 
should  be  set  apart  for  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  and 
had  unanimously  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

Its  resolU' 

I.   Affirming  the  Scriptural  character  of   such  an      tions. 


398 


MRS.  BOOTH. 


1861, 
Age  32. 


Mr. 
.Jnseiih 
Love. 


Hartle- 
pool. 


Two  hun- 
dred pen- 
it  ey\fs  at 

Mvft. 

BootWs 

meetings. 


agency  and  the  desirability  of  its  employment  by  the 
Connexion. 

2,  Recommending  Conference  to  set  Mr.  Booth 
apart  for  the  work ;  and 

3.  Recommending  his  appointment  to  the  Durham 
District  as  his  first  sphere  of  labour. 

One  of  the  most  influential  lay  members  of  the  Con- 
ference was  a  Mr.  Joseph  Love.  He  was  immensely 
rich,  having  risen  from  the  position  of  a  working- 
man  to  one  of  affluence,  and  leaving  at  his  death  some 
two  millions  of  money.  He  warmly  espoused  Mr. 
Booth's  cause,  and  promised  to  do  his  utmost  to  secure 
the  consent  of  Conference  to  a  renewal  of  his  evange- 
listic work.  Indeed,  both  he  and  other  wealthy  friends 
made  it  no  secret  that,  if  it  were  the  question  of  ex- 
pense which  had  caused  hesitation  as  to  the  appoint- 
ment, they  would  themselves  guarantee  to  defray  all 
the  extra  cost,  and  thus  relieve  Conference  of  any 
anxiety  on  that  account. 

Still  more  reassurins^  was  the  result  of  an  Easter 
visit  paid  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booth  to  Hartlepool.  So 
remarkable  were  the  results  and  so  promising  the 
prospects  that  Mrs.  Booth  remained  behind  for  ten 
days  to  continue  the  services,  no  less  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  coming  to  the  communion  rail  dur- 
ing this  brief  interval.  This  seemed  to  be  in  an  es- 
pecial manner  the  finger  .of  God  pointing  with  the 
utmost  plainness  to  the  path  that  He  desired  them  to 
follow.  The  commencement  of  this  work  is  graphi- 
cally described  by  Mrs.  Booth  herself  in  the  following 
letter  to  her  parents : 


"Hartlepool,  Easter  Monday,  1861. 
Easter  "  ^^  came  here  on  Thursday  afternoon  for  the  Easter  An- 

visit.       niversary  meetings.     I  preached  on  Good  Friday  morning  to 
a  full   chapel,  William  on  Sunday  morning,  and  I  again  in 


■'JUST  BEFORE    THE  BATTLE." 


399 


the  afternoon  to  a  chapel  packed,  aisles  and  pulpit  stairs, 
while  many  turned  away  unable  to  get  in.  This  morning 
William  returned  to  Gateshead  to  attend  our  tea-meeting  at 
Bethesda.  I  am  staying  here  to  preach  again  to-night,  and 
shall  return,  all  well,  to-morrow.  There  were  many  under 
conviction  last  evening,  whom  I  hope  to  see  converted  to- 
night. The  Lord  has  been  very  graciously  present  with  me 
hitherto  and  has  given  me  great  influence  and  liberty.  I  am 
in  my  element  in  the  work,  and  only  regret  that  I  did  not 
commence  it  years  ago.  Oh,  to  live  for  souls!  It  is  a  dark, 
sinful  world,  and  a  comparatively  dead  and  useless  Church. 
May  God  pot:r  out  His  Spirit! 

"  There  is  a  nice  society  here,  considering  it  is  a  new  one — 
a  beautiful  chapel,  seats  about  750.  They  say  there  were 
1000  in  it  yesterday  afterno